The Mortgage Loan Process in Eight Simple Steps

Your local Jacksonville mortgage broker breaks down the mortgage loan process

Finding a home can be a new and exciting time in your life, but figuring out the right loans to get and navigating the mortgage process may seem daunting if you don’t know what you need to do. At Atlantic Trust Mortgage, we specialize in making the loan process easy for you so you can close on your home!

We’ve provided an eight-step guideline to make sure your mortgage application sticks to deadlines and gets you in the door sooner!

The Loan Process

Step 1: Speak With a Loan Originator

When buying a new home, first time buyer or not, it can be both an exciting time but an overwhelming process. To make sure you avoid any mistakes or miscalculations, you should reach out to a mortgage loan originator (MLO).

Because we are a local Jacksonville mortgage broker, our MLOs at Atlantic Trust Mortgage will help you get your initial paperwork together, understand your financing options, and set realistic expectations for the home buying process pertaining to your area.

Step 2: Define Your Goals

Once you meet with an MLO, we will be with you every step of the way until you close on your home. Looking at our loan programs page trying to decide on Conventional Financing or FHA Financing may get a bit tiresome, so it’s important to define what your goals are early on and figure out what’s most important to you. Here are some frequently asked questions we like to ask our homebuyers:

Do you need to stay below a specific monthly payment?
Do you want to avoid paying mortgage insurance?
Is there a certain set of terms you want to be sure you receive?

Big banks may not have the time or knowledge to work closely on your loan, but as your local Jacksonville mortgage broker, if you need help making these decisions, our mortgage loan originators can be reached at 904-338-9356.

Step 3: Submit Your Pre-Approval Application

To start on the loan process, you’ll complete our short and easy pre-approval application with one of our MLOs. During this process, you’ll be able to find out how much you’re able to borrow based on your:

Credit
Income
Employment Information
And more!

As your Jacksonville mortgage broker, our MLOs at Atlantic Trust Mortgage will work with you to find the best way to reach your goals with this information. Once you are pre-approved, it’s time to start looking for homes!

Step 4: Find the Perfect Home and Get Under Contract to Buy

There’s a lot to think about when it comes to buying a home. When you’re looking for a home consider:

Location
School system
Community Feel
Neighborhood safety
Etc.

Not only will this make the decision after moving easier, but it’s a good thing to keep in mind when looking at the price of the actual house. Once you’ve found the perfect home, start paperwork with your real estate agent to go under contract to buy it. Our next step will be securing YOUR mortgage!

Step 5: Submit Your Documents

In addition to the final loan application, we’ll need some important documents sent over to our MLOs. These documents include:

W2s
Pay Stubs
Bank Statements

And any other important information to aid in understanding and providing evidence of your current debt and income situation.

Step 6: Appraisal

While your application is being processed and your documents are being reviewed, we’ll order an appraisal of your new home in order to check how much the property is actually worth. This makes sure that it checks out against the asking price and we’ll send you a copy of the report once it’s completed!

Step 7: Underwriting and Preparation for Closing

As our mortgage loan originators wrap up the application process, we’ll submit your loan to underwriting for final review and approval. This will help us find any last-minute impediments and make sure everything is ready for close.

During this time, you may want to avoid causing any changes to your credit score, such as purchasing a new car or opening a new line of credit. Start making sure that you have everything you need to attend your closing meeting as well— this includes your government issued ID and proof of homeowners’ insurance.

Step 8: Closing Your Loan

One more step and the loan is yours! We will send you a closing disclosure which details the final settlement figures and the total funds you’ll need for closing.

Make sure to read these documents carefully and make sure everything is accurate. Make sure to stretch your writing hand out prior to closing, because there will be A LOT of paperwork to sign. We promise it’ll be worth it because you’ve JUST secured your new home! Congrats!

We Are YOUR Local Jacksonville Mortgage Broker

Homebuying is no easy feat, and we all know it takes a village. If you’re ready to get started, have any questions about our programs, or want to speak with any of our amazing mortgage loan originators give us a call at 904-338-9356 or fill out our form on our contact us page.