How to Give Your Lender A Bank Statement
During your underwriting process, your lender will require copies of your bank statements to verify things such as:
Account Balances (Do you have the money to close?)
Payments clearing such as your earnest money deposit
Regular deposits for certain income types
Frequently, clients will screenshot me their account balance and call it good, and unfortunately I am here to deliver the news that this isn’t going to work. Loan underwriting guidelines will vary between different loan programs, but one to two months’ bank statements are a typical request for the majority of mortgages.
First, let me promise you that this document does exist for your bank account. If you opted into electronic statements when you opened it, you may never have located and seen it, but legally your bank is obligated to issue periodic statements detailing your account information if your account can receive electronic transfers, which is the majority of depository accounts. They are generally available for download in your online banking under a tab that says Documents/Statements or similar. If you do not receive electronic statements, this comes in the mail when issued.
This document will have the following pieces of information, and I’ll explain why we need it instead of a screenshot:
Your name and the name of other account holders: Does this money belong to you? Do you have access to it? For some loan types, are the other parties on board with you using this money for this purpose?
The name of the financial institution: Is this a legitimate bank/credit union, or is a type of account that requires different documentation such as community pooled savings, private investment funds, etc.
The account number and type: Does this match what is on the application?
The number of pages: we need all of them. Even the blank ones- we don’t know they’re blank until we see them.
The dates covered by the statement- generally either one month or one quarter.
The transactions over the time period: Each loan type requires deposits over a certain amount to be explained- were any deposits over that limit? Do any withdrawals look like debt payments that were not disclosed on the application?
Sadly, a screenshot of an account balance with no name, account number, info on where that money came from, etc and a note from your loan officer saying “we promise Mr/Mrs Underwriter, it’s their money and it’s legit” is not gonna fly. It’s not personal! The rules are made to prevent fraud from the bad actors, but they have to apply to everyone.
