Parkland, FL

Buying a home involves a variety of parts; many people, documents and tasks are needed in order to make your purchase go smoothly. This post will give you the 20 Documents You Need for a Smooth Home Purchase. It's better to get organized as soon as possible, but what exactly do you need?

To start, you should get all the paperwork that will be required gathered and organized. Here's a list of the paperwork you'll need to buy a home, depending on what stage of the purchase process you're at:

If you're ahead of the game and still getting ready for your pre-approval or mortgage:

1. Tax Returns (at least one year, if self-employed or commission typically 2 years)
2. W2s (last 2 years)
3. Pay Stubs (last 2 years with year-to-date earnings)
4. Bank Statements (last 2 months)
5. Investment Account Statements
6. Copy of Your Driver's License or Photo ID
7. Credit Report

If you're at the point of submitting an offer:

1. Copy of Your Pre-Approval Letter
2. Sales Contract (signed and dated)
3. Any Addendum

If you're already at closing:

1. Sales Contract (signed by Buyers and Sellers)
2. Title
3. Title Insurance
4. Copy of Your Driver's License or Photo ID
5. Deed
6. HUD-1 Statement
7. Survey
8. Proof of Home Insurance (if required by lender)
9. Proof of Required Repairs

Throw that ball and get your pooch prancing in this new and exciting dog park at the City of Parkland! This two acre park opened on January 7, 2012 and has lots of amenities including water fountains, covered pavilions, walking trails, and a place to wash your pooch. There are also benches and picnic tables. Barkland is great place for dogs and dog-lovers to play, have fun, and enjoy a good time.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Interested parties may contact Scott Davidoff the Community Services Director, at 954-757-4126 or email sdavidoff@cityofparkland.org for more information. You can also go to cityofparkland.org.

Reasons Why We Need So Much Documentation From You

As you prepare for a mortgage application, I want to educate you on why we ask for, what may seem like, an excessive amount of documentation during your mortgage process.

Due to lax underwriting from 2004 to 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac decided that they weren’t being strict enough on mortgage bankers and upgraded their standards in an attempt to prevent default mortgages, which began in 2008.

In order to sell any loans to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, lenders have to make sure we meet their requirements. This has led us to tighten our standards. If we fail to comply with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac’s obligations, whether a loan is performing or not, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac will pursue other options.

To prevent this, we now have at least eight people check every single item to prevent any possible mistakes. We want to be absolutely certain that we don’t have to buy back a loan from Fannie/Freddie and this results in an increase in requested documentation and scrutiny for each loan.

While this can cause some frustration and possible delays in getting to closing, this overly-cautious approach is our way of making sure your loan is accepted by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and your mortgage goes through.

For more information, contact me, Michal Bander at Guaranteed Rate - 954.684.9227

Happy New Year