Should Potential Home Loan Customers be Intimidated by Their Underwriter?

With so many steps involved in receiving a home loan, Sunflower Bank firmly believes that the more informed home buyers can be going into the process, the more confident and satisfied they’ll be when navigating each step. 

One step of the process that is the most unnerving also happens to be extremely important: underwriting. That word can be intimidating for many home buyers, so Sunflower Bank wants to further inform potential home buyers to help ease some of their uncertainty around the underwriting process.

Who is the Underwriter?

While we don’t want potential home buyers to fear their underwriter, we don’t want to downplay their importance. The underwriter plays a significant role in the process of finalizing a home loan because they ultimately assess how risky it is for the lender to grant a mortgage loan. Mortgage loan underwriters review loan applications based on many factors including: capacity, credit history, capital, and collateral to ensure compliance with company policy, contracts, investor guidelines, lending programs, and both state and federal regulations. There are many ways for underwriters to assess risk, some of the most common include:

•    Employment and Income Verification

•    Appraisals

•    Down Payment and Savings Verification

•    Debt-to-Income Ratio

•    Credit History Review

The underwriter is there to make sure all required documentation is received and verified to ensure potential home buyers are not closing on mortgages that they cannot afford. Additionally, underwriters make the final call on whether to approve, conditionally approve, or deny mortgage loan applications.

Should Buyers Be Intimidated by the Underwriting Process?

It may seem like an underwriter is only involved to try and block buyers from achieving their homeownership dream. In reality, underwriters exist to help homebuyers complete a home purchase by working to find solutions that will result in an approved loan.  Underwriters realize the human element involved in a home purchase and are empathetic. They understand this is a person or family looking to achieve homeownership and that this is one of the most stressful transactions of the buyer’s life. It is their goal to make the process as easy as possible while following their guidelines. There isn’t a reason to be intimidated about underwriting, but it’s a good idea to be prepared to provide all explanations, documentation, or other requested items that the underwriters may request to complete your approval.

How is the Underwriting Process Different with Sunflower Bank Loans?

Our Sunflower Bank Mortgage Loan Originators (MLOs) and underwriters work to make the entire mortgage process more transparent and seamless for buyers. Contact us today to see the difference for yourself.