After you have applied for your home loan with a loan officer your loan officer will prepare a package to provide that underwriter your loan application. A good loan officer will put the package of your application together in a very clean, clear way that the underwriter knows exactly what you are looking to do with your refinance or home purchase. Therefore, the next step after you deal with a loan officer is for your file to be sent to an underwriter and be underwritten. An underwriter is a key part of the loan process. The underwriter can make or break a loan and generally has the authority to deny a loan that he/she does not feel comfortable signing off on. The underwriter will look at every loan application and document submitted and make sure addresses match up, income seems reasonable and is well verified, appraisal report is acceptable, social security numbers and dates of birth match up, names and addresses are filled in completely and accurately, loan application is filled out 100% completely and accurately. The underwriter may condition the loan officer for items that he/she feels are deficient or not acceptable to the lenders standards.

The underwriting process is when you will be asked to gather additional information for your mortgage professional. Often times they will submit a loan, and the underwriter will ask for more documentation on certain items. Do not be alarmed, this is a very common process.

The underwriter has the ability to approve or deny your loan application. They act as quality control agents for the lender and there main job is to spot potential problems in a loan file that may cause the company to lose money.

Topics that will reviewed by an underwriter are commonly : borrowers credit file, rent history, bank account and asset information, appraisal and title of the home.

Often your mortgage advisor can explain a situation that is not evident to the underwriter in such a way that the problems are removed without you doing anything.