The Refinance Process
Step by step guide through the home refinancing process.
Step 1 -- Prequalifying / Preapproval
Refinancing a home starts with prequalifying for your mortgage. With our online application, or during an appointment at any of our branches, we will capture the important information we need to product loan options that work for your situation. During this prequalifying step, we pull and analyze your credit, assets, and income to determine how much you can qualify for in the mortgage and work with you to figure out which of the loan options best suits your needs. We will also ask you to provide supporting documents such as paystubs, bank statements, and W-2 forms which help verify the numbers. We may also proceed on to a preapproval, where an underwriter reviews all of your documentation and preapproves your credit package before the appraisal is purchased.
Step 2 -- Appraisal / Loan Disclosures
Once you have worked out the right mortgage for you and are prequalified or preapproved, you and your loan originator will sign your loan disclosures and intent to proceed. We will then collect funds from you and order an appraisal of the property (if needed for the type of refinance you're doing) through a professional appraiser along with the preliminary title report. You, your loan originator, and your loan processor will be ironing out any other questions or documentation needs for your loan. This is also a good time to get your interest rate locked with your loan originator if you haven't already.
Step 3 -- Processing and Underwriting
Your loan processor will finish ordering verifications, tax transcripts, and other third party documents that are still outstanding. Your processor will also review your application one more time, and package the application, verifications, and supporting documents into the underwriting package. An underwriter will then review your file and issue an approval or a conditional approval. If the approval is complete, you're on to step 4 and ready to start preparing for closing. If your approval is conditional, that means we have some items to iron out or document before we get to final approval. Your loan originator and processor will be working with you diligently to get to final approval, and your help is key during this part of the process.
Step 4 -- Closing and Recording
After your final approval, we will issue your Closing Disclosure, which spells out the finalized numbers and prepares you for your closing. Once you've signed that and the legally required 3 business days have passed you're ready to sign your final documents at the title company. Any funds need to close should be ready with a cashier's check or a wire arranged with the title company. If one or more borrowers can't make it to the closing date, you can arrange a power of attorney with your title company to keep the transaction moving in a timely fashion. Once you've signed final documents and the legally required 3 business days for right of rescission have passed, the title company will record the deed of trust with the state recorder's office, and your refinance is complete / any cash out funds are disbursed.