Everyone has their own vocation in their lives. Attorneys do attorney things all day long. Cops protect and serve. Line cooks prepare meals. It's literally an endless list. And of course, mortgage loan officers do mortgage loan officer things. Mortgage tasks are a process of counseling, advising, completing the loan application, submitting documentation and a host of others. The point is that these individuals do their thing each and every day, all day.
When first completing a loan application, it might seem a little daunting. But it's not. What's more, there are questions on the application that simply won't apply to you. But as an applicant, you may not know this. One might figure that if there's a section that asks for information that you need to put something there. If you're not sure, leave it blank and speak with your loan officer. If it needs to be completed, you'll have plenty of time for follow up. Sometimes though, applicants can start scratching their heads wondering why the mortgage company is asking for something you've already submitted or that you answered a question the first time around and now the lender is coming back for more on the very same topic.
Take for example your income. You'll need to provide evidence that you can afford the new mortgage along with a monthly allotment for property taxes and insurance. On the application, there is a section that asks about your income. All you need to do is answer it. But let's say after you've submitted your application, your loan officer gives you a call. "Hey, can you send us a new pay check stub?" This is confusing, right? You already gave them a paycheck stub so why are they asking for another?
When this pops up, and it's a common one, it's rarely the situation where the lender is questioning your income but instead is a compliance issue. Compliance on the part of the lender that must do what the approval guidelines require. Asking for a new pay check stub is typically the result of the original paycheck stub submitted is more than 30 days old. Lender guidelines ask that such documentation be no more than 30 days old. Just send in the new stub and don't pay anymore attention to it.
There's another issue as it relates to income. Some businesses pay certain employees incentive bonuses. There's actually a section on the loan application that asks if you receive a bonus and if so, how much? When the lender wants to know more about the bonus income, it's typically to ask how long you've been receiving this income and how often you're paid this bonus. Even though you've already answered the question with the first go-round, there can be other things that need clarification as well as making sure the loan is in compliance with approval standards.
Bonus income must have at least a two year history and must also be on a rather regular bonus, say monthly or quarterly. Lenders may or may not count annual bonuses as the guidelines ask the bonus income be made available to pay some bills. A monthly bonus, yes. A once-a-year Christmas bonus, probably not. That seasonal bonus probably won't be available come July, or at least it probably won't be.
When a duplicate question comes up, it's typically more of a compliance issue and not a lender having problems with your loan application.
