The Role of a Mortgage Underwriter in Buying a Home
From fast-track approvals to manual reviews, here’s what to expect (and how to avoid delays) in the underwriting process.
Buying a home has so many moving parts that it can feel like it takes forever to finish. One part of that process includes mortgage underwriting.
A mortgage underwriter is the person who approves — or denies — your loan application. This is one of the most important people in the process, and it could take days or even weeks to finish.
If you’re beginning the home-buying process or simply planning for the future, let’s explore the role of a mortgage underwriter and why their work matters for your approval.
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What is a mortgage underwriter?
A mortgage underwriter assesses your home loan application, checking your financial history to see if you’re a good candidate to whom to lend.
The underwriter thoroughly reviews your credit history, financial documents, bank accounts, investments and anything related to your money, taking a deep dive into your background to see if your finances align with home loan eligibility.
Each mortgage lender has different requirements, so underwriters must ensure each applicant fits the eligibility standards before approving (or rejecting) a home loan.
What does a mortgage underwriter do?
A mortgage underwriter checks every facet of your finances, with a few primary focus points.
1. Income
One of the most important evaluations is made on how much you earn, how often you earn it and how long you’ve worked for your current employer. A mortgage underwriter verifies your employment to make sure you earn exactly what you stated in your application. You might need to submit a W-2, pay stubs, or other employment statements to show your earnings.
Mortgage underwriters thoroughly review bank accounts for the last few months or years, depending on your situation. For self-employed folks or those who own their own businesses, you might have to submit extra paperwork to show your income.
How much you make, together with your current debt levels, makes up a pivotal part of your mortgage application. This also highlights your debt-to-income ratio (DTI), which is the percentage of income you have once all your monthly bills have been paid.
Debt includes monthly home payments (such as a mortgage or rent), outstanding credit card balances and other loans, such as auto, personal, student loans, child support, alimony and more. It also includes basic costs such as food and utilities.
You can find your DTI by adding up your monthly payments and dividing them by your monthly income. Multiply that figure by 100 to get your DTI percentage.
Every lender has different DTI requirements, but generally, a good DTI is 35% or lower. Keep in mind that you might still get approved for a mortgage with a higher DTI, depending on your lender.
2. Credit
Your credit is another major component of the underwriting check. A mortgage underwriter will pull your credit report to see how you handle borrowing money.
A long history of on-time payments shows mortgage underwriters that you’re responsible with money and would likely repay your mortgage if given a home loan. This shows up in your credit score, such as the commonly used FICO score.
Underwriters look at the good and the bad. For example, they could check to see if you’ve had any recent bankruptcies or carry a large credit card balance. If you have a history of irresponsible credit, a mortgage underwriter might deem you too risky to approve a loan.
3. Property and assets
Assets aren’t just the cars or homes you own; they include bank and investment accounts, retirement funds and more. A lender will order a third-party property appraisal on the home you want to buy.
Appraisals tell lenders the market value of your potential home, which plays a part in your approval, helping inform lenders whether you can afford your future home repayments based on how much it's worth.
You might get approved for an amount that’s less than the home's appraised value. If that’s the case, you might have to pay the (potentially hefty) difference out of pocket.
How long does a mortgage underwriter take to evaluate applications?
There’s no standard time on how long mortgage underwriting should take. For some lenders, it could take a few days, while others might take upwards of a few weeks to complete underwriting. Some use an automated process that includes software or AI, which expedites the process.
This might work for some applicants, especially those with a straightforward income, employment and debt history.
However, if you have irregular income, recently changed jobs or have recent marks against your credit report, you might have a better chance of approval with a manual underwriting process.
Either way, avoid falling behind during the underwriting check by keeping all your paperwork in order and at the ready. It could take you awhile to pull financial documents from the last two years, so if you can gather those ahead of time, you could help the underwriting process go faster.
Tips for navigating mortgage underwriting successfully
Overall, underwriting is one of the most time-consuming steps in the mortgage process.
To keep things moving smoothly, avoid making large purchases that could lower your credit score and affect your application. Have your financial documents organized and ready, and try not to get discouraged by the waiting game.
Patience and consistent communication with your lender and agent will help ensure they have everything needed to guide you through the process.
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