What You Will Need to Complete an Application

Yes, there's a lot to do. But when you break it down into its parts, it starts to get a lot simpler. Basically, you'll need to supply information about who you are, where you work, your finances and the house you are interested in buying. That's it.

1. Start with Personal Information

Under the U.S. Patriot Act, lenders will require proof of identity (picture ID, driver's license, passport, Resident Alien Card and the like).

You will supply further information including your social security number, date of birth, number of years of schooling, marital status, number and age of dependents, and your current address and telephone number. (If you lived elsewhere in the past two years, be ready to provide those addresses too.)

2. Now Get all Your Work Information Together

List, for the last two years, your employer's name, address and telephone number; your job title or position; how long you held the job; and all your other financial information (including salary, bonuses, commissions and average overtime pay). You may be asked to sign a form that will be sent to your employer (and previous employers if you've held your current job less than two years) to verify this information.

Provide all your W-2 forms for the past two years and your two most recent pay stubs. If you are self-employed, be prepared to provide complete tax returns for the last two years, along with a profit-and-loss statement for the current year.

Don't forget proof of other sources of income such as rental income, social security or disability payments, alimony, child support, etc. Proof of these could be canceled checks, copies of leases, divorce decrees, certification of benefits or other documents. Income from alimony, child support or separate maintenance need not be revealed if you do not want ditech.com to consider it in determining your creditworthiness.

Finally, if there are any gaps in your employment over the past two years for whatever reasons (illness, layoff and so on) provide a brief written explanation.

3. Information about what You're Buying (if you already have contracted for a property)

In most cases, this will already be in the hands of EXIM, supplied to them by a broker or agent. However you should be aware of all the elements. Just as we started with your basics, there are also the property's basics: address, a detailed description, an independent appraisal and contact information for access to the property (usually the seller or the seller's agent).

In addition, your lender should have a complete copy of the signed sales contract.