Final Loan Approval: Underwriting Explained

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Now that your lender has received your appraisal report, they can begin underwriting your file. The underwriter will make the ultimate decision of whether or not the loan is accepted or denied. They will verify all documentation submitted by the processing department and make sure the information meets the loan program guidelines. If there are any deficiencies, they will ask for additional documentation to remedy them. Once they’re comfortable that all guidelines and criteria have been met, a final commitment will be issued along with the final rate-locked Good Faith Estimate.

Signing the Commitment

It is now time to sign the final commitment. The commitment is a contract that is usually sent to all parties involved in the transaction including realtors and attorneys. Once you sign the commitment, you have accepted the conditions in the contract and your mortgage has been completed. At this point, both you and the bank are obligated to fulfill all the terms of the mortgage and failing to do so will put your down payment and other prepaid fees at risk. Now that the commitment is signed and executed, all parties are notified and you are now ready to work on closing.