Mortgage underwriters decide if loan applicants are good borrowers and ensure loan documentation meets lender guidelines. They verify employment, credit history, funds, and property valuation. Formal training is not necessary, but experience is required. Job prospects depend on industry status.
Mortgage underwriter jobs involve deciding whether a loan applicant makes a good borrower and ensuring that the loan documentation meets the lender’s guidelines. Mortgage underwriters handle all paperwork for an outstanding home or construction loan. They receive this documentation from a loan processor and then go through all the details.
Mortgage underwriters perform four general tasks when determining qualified applicants. They verify employment and income based on pay slips, past W-2 forms, and a phone call to the loan applicant’s employer. Reviewing an applicant’s credit history scores is an important part of a mortgage underwriter’s jobs. Their job is to ask for missing information if your credit score is low.
Underwriters also review the accounts from which an applicant’s funds originate. If a down payment or closing costs are being funded by depleting retirement fund accounts, the mortgage underwriter will look elsewhere for a reserve amount. Finally, mortgage underwriter jobs involve appraisal bonding work. They ensure that the valuation of the purchased property is valued enough to support the loan.
If they approve a loan, the mortgage underwriter transfers the file to a department that prepares the loan documents for closing. Mortgage underwriter jobs sometimes require formal training. Career schools offer certifications for online or classroom settings. It is not necessary, however, to go to school to get a mortgage underwriting job. Some underwriters use the job itself as a training program.
All mortgage underwriter jobs involve experience in the field. Underwriters typically start out as junior processors or loan assistants and then work their way up to the mortgage underwriter. Many underwriters work for a lender or bank and support that institution’s policies. Occasionally they work as freelancers, but it’s hard to learn the policies of various lending companies.
Lenders who hire mortgage underwriters often do not have the funds to train or certify them. It is an advantage to have a direct endorsement (DE) certificate. The DE can be obtained in a class or seminar. Certification indicates that the underwriter understands both traditional and non-traditional loan types.
As a mortgage underwriter gains years of experience in the field, opportunities to manage or direct may arise. Senior underwriters or directors may manage other underwriters or employees of mortgage institutions. Job prospects for mortgage underwriters depend on industry status. When mortgage rates are low and the number of people wanting to buy is high, more mortgage underwriters are needed in the job market.
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