Every Document You'll Need to Buy a Home

Income documentation

For W-2 employees: your two most recent pay stubs and two years of W-2s. Underwriters use these to establish a stable, continuing income — the operative word is continuing. Year-to-date figures matter as much as annual totals.

For self-employed, 1099, or commissioned borrowers: two years of complete personal tax returns, business returns if you own 25% or more of an entity, and often a year-to-date profit-and-loss statement. Qualifying income is calculated from net income after write-offs, which surprises most first-time self-employed buyers.

Asset documentation

Two months of statements for every account you're using — checking, savings, and any retirement account you plan to draw from. Send all pages, including the intentionally blank ones. Partial statements get rejected and cost you a day.

Underwriters are looking for two things: that you have the cash, and that the cash is yours. Any deposit that isn't payroll and is large relative to your income will be flagged for sourcing.

Gift funds

If a family member is helping, the money needs a signed gift letter stating the amount, the relationship, and — critically — that repayment is not expected. Most programs also require evidence of the transfer: the donor's withdrawal and your matching deposit.

Don't have the donor hand you cash. Don't deposit it into an account you're not using for the purchase. Both create sourcing problems that take days to unwind.

The three documents that cause delays

Letters of explanation. Any credit inquiry in the last 90 days, any address discrepancy, any gap in employment. These are routine — write them plainly and quickly.

Divorce decrees and child support orders. If either applies, underwriting needs the full document, not a summary, because obligations and income both flow from it.

Large deposit sourcing. A $4,000 deposit you can't document can stall a file. Sell something? Keep the receipt and the buyer's payment record.

Property-side documents

Once you're under contract, add the purchase agreement and all addenda, the homeowners insurance binder, HOA (homeowners association — a neighborhood or condo group that charges a monthly or yearly fee and sets community rules; lenders count that fee in your payment) documents and dues statements if applicable, and the inspection report if repairs were negotiated. Your lender orders the appraisal and title work directly.