A mortgage application asks a lender to hand you several hundred thousand dollars on the strength of your paperwork, so the paperwork is the point. Borrowers who gather it before they apply close faster and get fewer follow-up requests. Here is what lenders ask for in 2026, what has changed, and what happens after you submit.

Before the contract: pre-approval

A pre-approval is a lender’s conditional commitment based on a hard credit pull and a review of your income and assets. Lenders commonly request about 30 days of pay stubs, two years of W-2s and your two most recent bank statements at this stage. The letter typically stays valid for 60 to 90 days, and some lenders cut it off at 30. It does not lock a rate; the lock is a separate commitment on a specific property, usually for 30, 45 or 60 days. See our pre-qualified vs. pre-approved explainer for the difference between the two letters.

The checklist

Every borrower on the loan supplies these; the loan program and the property may add items.

  • The signed purchase contract, all pages and addenda, plus a copy of your earnest-money check or the wire confirmation.
  • Identification: a government-issued photo ID, your Social Security number, and your current and recent prior addresses.
  • Income: pay stubs covering the most recent 30 days with year-to-date earnings, plus W-2s for the past two years.
  • Employer contacts for the past two years. Lenders evaluate two years of employment history and will call your employer to confirm you still work there within the ten business days before closing.
  • Tax returns if you are self-employed, own part of a business, or have income that does not appear on a W-2: personal returns with all schedules covering the same two-year window, plus business returns and a year-to-date profit-and-loss statement. The lender must also verify that your business exists within the 120 days before closing.
  • Other income: award letters for Social Security or pension income, court orders for child support or alimony you receive, and leases for rental property. Income with a known end date must be expected to continue for at least three years from closing to count.
  • Debts: account information for every loan and credit card, including child support or alimony you pay.
  • Assets: statements covering the most recent full two-month period for every account you will use to close, all pages, showing the institution, your name, at least the last four digits of the account number, the statement period, every transaction and the ending balance. A statement more than 45 days old at application will need a newer replacement. Retirement and brokerage accounts count if you are using them for the down payment or reserves.
  • Gift letter if a relative is helping with the down payment: signed by the donor, stating the dollar amount, that no repayment is expected, and the donor’s name, address, phone number and relationship to you. The lender must also verify the transfer.
  • Housing history: your landlord’s contact and proof of on-time rent, or your current mortgage statement. A positive rent-payment history can help your file.
  • Other property you own: mortgage statements, tax and insurance figures, leases, and your plans for it after closing.
  • The property side: your homeowners insurance agent, the closing agent or attorney, and, for a condo or co-op, the association contact so the lender can send its questionnaire.

What digital verification changes

Lenders can now verify income, employment and assets electronically. With your authorization, the lender’s system pulls payroll data and bank transactions directly from the source, and Fannie Mae’s automated underwriting system can accept a component validated this way in place of paper. In practice, you may be asked to link your bank and payroll accounts instead of uploading statements. It does not remove anything from the list above — it changes how you deliver it — and it explains nothing: a large deposit still needs a paper trail, and a job gap still needs a letter. Our guide to applying online versus in person covers the trade-offs.

The two items that generate the most follow-up

Two things produce the most conditions. The first is a large deposit, which Fannie Mae defines as a single deposit exceeding 50% of your monthly qualifying income. On a purchase, the lender must document its source or exclude the money from your verified funds. The second is gift funds, which need the letter above plus proof of the transfer. Move down-payment money into the account you will document early, so it appears as a balance rather than a deposit inside the two-month statement window, and keep records of every transfer. If you do get a request, our guide to writing a letter of explanation covers what underwriters want to see.

What the lender orders on its own

Once you apply, the lender pulls a tri-merge credit report from all three bureaus (since April 2026 it may use the newer VantageScore 4.0 or FICO Score 10T models alongside classic FICO), orders the appraisal, runs a title search and checks whether the home sits in a mapped flood zone. Credit-report fees have risen sharply in recent years, so expect to see the charge. For a condo, the association questionnaire goes out now.

The disclosure timeline

Within three business days of receiving your application, the lender must deliver a Loan Estimate: a standardized form showing the rate, the monthly payment and the closing costs. Use it to compare lenders. Before closing you receive a Closing Disclosure with the final figures; read it against the Loan Estimate line by line and ask about anything that moved. Closing costs typically run 2% to 5% of the loan amount.

After underwriting

The underwriter issues one of four answers: approval, approval with conditions (the common one), a counteroffer such as a larger down payment or a different program, or a denial. A denial comes in writing with the reasons and entitles you to a free copy of your credit report from the bureau the lender used if you ask within 60 days. Answer conditions the same day, send complete documents, and do not open new credit, change jobs or move money between accounts until the loan funds. The file that closes on time is the one with nothing left to ask.