Federal First Lending

Purchase · refinance · pre-approval

Find it, keep it, afford it.

Thousands of loans financed, helping Americans into homes and keeping them there. The document list is published below, because the paperwork is the part everybody actually dreads.

Get pre-approvedCall (855) 517-3388

Thousands

of loans financed

5

documents to start

$0

to get pre-approved

The paperwork, published

Everything you will be asked for.

Nobody publishes this list, and the delay in almost every mortgage is documents arriving late rather than anything a lender does. Gather these and you are most of the way there.

IncomeTwo most recent pay stubs, two years of W-2s, and two years of tax returns if you are self-employed or take commission.
AssetsTwo months of statements for every account the down payment or reserves will come from, all pages, including the blank ones.
IdentityGovernment photo ID and Social Security number. That is the whole of it.
The propertyPurchase contract once you have one, plus the agent's details. On a refinance, the current statement and the homeowners policy.
Anything unusualA gift letter, a divorce decree, a bankruptcy discharge, a large recent deposit. Volunteering these at the start is what keeps a file out of underwriting limbo.

What we do

Three things, done properly.

Purchase

Including first-time buyers, where the pre-approval is worth more than the rate quote because it decides which houses you are allowed to want.

Refinance

Rate, term, or cash out. Worth running the numbers whenever the market moves, and worth ignoring when it has not.

Pre-approval

Free, and the difference between an offer that gets read and one that does not.

Start with the pre-approval. It costs nothing.

It tells you the real number before you fall in love with a house above it, and multiple mortgage inquiries in a shopping window count as one.

Get pre-approvedCall (855) 517-3388

Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm

Before you apply

The questions everybody has.

What credit score do I need?

Lower than most people assume, and the programme matters more than the number. Government-backed loans reach considerably further down than conventional ones, and the honest answer requires looking at your actual report rather than guessing from a range.

How much do I need for a down payment?

It depends on the programme. There are routes with very little down and routes where more down buys a materially better rate, and which is right depends on how long you plan to keep the loan.

Should I get pre-approved before I look at houses?

Yes, and it is the single most useful thing you can do early. It tells you the real number rather than the aspirational one, and in a competitive market an offer without one is often not read.

Will applying hurt my credit?

A mortgage inquiry has a small, short-lived effect, and multiple mortgage inquiries inside a shopping window count as one. Shopping the rate does not cost you the score.

How long does closing take?

Typically weeks rather than months once a contract exists. The variable is almost always how quickly documents come back, which is why the list above is published.

General information only, not a commitment to lend. All loans are subject to credit approval, underwriting and programme requirements.