How to Get Pre-Approved for a Mortgage in Washington State

If you're ready to get pre-approved for a mortgage loan in Washington State, here's exactly what to expect.  It's a simple five-step process: complete a short online questionnaire, review your credit history together, hop on a quick call to talk through your numbers, send over your paperwork, and get your finalized pre-approval.  Most borrowers move through the whole thing in about a week.

Step #1: Complete an online questionnaire.

Now, we're not going to link to the questionnaire yet because if we do, you'll click on the link and never come back to read the rest of this page.  And we want you to read the rest of this page.  It's important info and it will make the pre-approval process easier for you (and for us!).

Don't stress about the questionnaire.  Nothing you enter is written in stone.  We can change, edit, delete, and revise whatever is needed.  We promise, you can't mess it up.

And don't worry about getting every detail precisely correct.  The questionnaire is just a starting point.  We don't need to know that you have exactly $5,324.19 in your bank account.  An estimate of $5,000 is good enough.  We'll update your bank account balances when we receive your bank statements anyway.

Step #2: Review your credit history.

We'll request a soft credit history.  This does not create a credit inquiry, but it does allow us to take a look and make sure everything appears the way you expect.  If your credit is frozen, please temporarily thaw Experian and Equifax.

Step #3: Chat again to spitball numbers.

We'll schedule a Zoom meeting to review your questionnaire and discuss your timeline and goals.  We'll also review some basic numbers to start nailing down a price range for your home purchase.  If you're local and you'd rather meet in person, we'd love to see you!  Or if Zoom isn't your thing, we can arrange for a good, old fashioned phone call.

Step #4: Gather and send your paperwork.

After our call, we'll ask you to upload some paperwork to our secure portal. 

If you don't have a scanner, don't know how to create pdf documents, or you're finding the document upload too cumbersome to work with, please let us know.  We can help you!

And please do not take separate pictures of each page of your paperwork with your cell phone.  It will take you a very long time and it's likely the files won't be readable on our end.  We are happy to make arrangements to pick-up physical paperwork from your home or office.  We can even send you a prepaid FedEx label if you're not local.

We'll probably ask for (some of) the following documents:

• 2024 and 2025 personal federal tax returns including all pages and all schedules (federal only).
• 2024 and 2025 W2s and/or 1099s for all sources of income (wages, pension, social security, IRA distributions, etc.)
• Pay stubs reflecting the most recent 30 days of income for all applicants.
• Previous two months' bank statements for checking, savings, investment, and retirement accounts.  Please include all pages, even if the last page is blank or otherwise irrelevant.

If any of the following documents apply to you, you may be asked to provide them as well:

• If self employed, complete business tax returns for the previous two years.  Please include all pages and all schedules.
• 2026 social security awards letter with current benefit amount.
• Divorce decree and/or child support agreement
• Complete bankruptcy discharge papers.
• DD-214 or military discharge papers.

Step #5: Finalize your pre-approval.

Once your paperwork is verified, we dial in your numbers using current interest rates and actual closing costs.  You'll get a few finished scenarios to compare side by side, and we'll record a video just for you, walking through each one line by line.  From there, you're ready to shop for a home with a rock-solid pre-approval and a clear idea of what it will take to get what you want.

Now that you've made it to the end, here's that link to the questionnaire:  Questionnaire Link!

We look forward to working with you!