For a mortgage pre-approval, most salaried buyers need 30 days of pay stubs, two years of W-2s, two months of bank statements, a photo ID, and permission to pull credit. Self-employed, commissioned and retired borrowers need more. The faster you deliver complete documents, the stronger your pre-approval and the faster your eventual closing.
Everyone
- Government-issued photo ID.
- Social Security number and authorization to pull credit.
- Two years of residence history, with landlord contact information if you rent and pay by cash or money order.
- Bank and asset statements: the two most recent monthly statements for every account you will use for the down payment, closing costs or reserves. All pages, including the blank ones. A missing "page 4 of 4" is a classic delay.
- Retirement and brokerage statements if you will use them for funds or reserves.
Salaried and hourly borrowers
- Pay stubs covering the most recent 30 days, showing year-to-date earnings.
- W-2s for the last two years.
- Employer contact for the verification of employment.
- Some files also require two years of tax returns, for example when you have rental income, a side business, or unreimbursed expenses.
Overtime, bonus and commission
- Everything above, plus a written breakdown from your employer in some cases, because a history of this income is usually averaged over one to two years. See Debt-to-Income Ratio Explained.
Self-employed borrowers
- Two years of personal tax returns, all schedules.
- Two years of business returns if you own 25% or more of a partnership or corporation, plus K-1s.
- A year-to-date profit and loss statement in some cases.
- Business license or CPA letter to verify the business exists.
Or, for non-QM documentation routes, 12 or 24 months of bank statements instead of returns. See Bank Statement Loans: How Income Is Calculated and the Self-Employed Home Loan FAQ.
Retirees and other income
- Social Security and pension award letters.
- Retirement account statements if using distributions or asset-based qualifying. See Getting a Mortgage in Retirement.
- Divorce decree for alimony or child support received, with proof of receipt. See Divorce and Your Mortgage in Arizona.
- Leases and tax returns for rental income.
Down payment and special situations
- Gift letter and the donor's proof of funds and transfer, if family is helping. See Down Payment Gift Funds Rules.
- Explanation and source for any large deposit that is not a paycheck.
- Bankruptcy discharge papers, divorce decrees, or other court documents if they apply.
- Settlement statement from a home you are selling.
- VA Certificate of Eligibility for VA loans, which your lender can often pull for you. See VA Eligibility: Who Qualifies.
The details that cause delays
- Partial statements. Send every page.
- Screenshots instead of statements. Underwriters need the bank's document with your name and account number.
- Unexplained deposits. Anything outside your normal pattern needs a paper trail. Stop moving money between accounts.
- Old documents. Most documents expire in roughly 60 to 120 days depending on type and program. Update them before they go stale.
- Name mismatches between your ID, pay stubs and accounts.
Upload everything once, in one place, complete. A pre-approval built on complete documents is one a seller can trust. See Pre-Qualified, Pre-Approved, Underwritten.
Why ask me
- I answer the question before I sell you anything. If renting, waiting or a different program is the better move, I will say so.
- Real numbers, not a calculator guess. I price your actual scenario, side by side, with the fees on the page.
- Every program under one roof. Conventional, FHA, VA, jumbo, and non-QM options like bank statement, DSCR and asset-based loans, so the program fits you instead of the other way around.
- You talk to the principal. Ricky Khamis is President of EPiQ Lending, NMLS #173141, lending in Arizona since 1999 and a 2025 Presidents Club Winner at CMG Home Loans. Direct line: (480) 999-9842.
EPiQ Lending is NMLS #1936984, at 7975 N. Hayden Road, Suite A-101 in Scottsdale. Verify all of it before you trust any of it: Ricky's EPiQ Lending profile, the Scottsdale branch, and the license itself at NMLS Consumer Access. Hold every lender to that standard, including us.
More plain-English answers in the Mortgage Education library.
Equal Housing Opportunity. This is general information, not a commitment to lend or an offer to extend credit. Program guidelines, eligibility requirements and documentation standards vary by investor and change over time. Rates, terms and program guidelines change and depend on credit approval, property appraisal and other qualifying factors. Not all applicants will qualify. This is not legal or tax advice; consult a qualified professional about your own situation.
Find out which program actually costs you less
FHA, conventional and jumbo price the same borrower very differently once the mortgage insurance is compared across the years you will own the home. Tell me the shape of your file and I will run them side by side.
Looking at a specific home? Send me the address and I will run the numbers: rickykhamis.com/analyze
