The mortgage process in Maryland, in the order it actually happens to you

Step 1: Look at your credit and your monthly budget

Before anyone runs numbers for you, look at them yourself. Pull your credit reports, fix errors, and write down what you pay each month for rent, car loans, student loans, and credit cards. The CFPB’s preparation checklist starts here because these two things, credit and monthly debt, shape everything a lender can offer later.

Then pick a payment you can live with, not the largest one you could be approved for. Rent is a useful reference, but a mortgage payment usually also carries property taxes, homeowners insurance, and sometimes mortgage insurance or association fees, so the same dollar amount buys less house than it seems.

• Get your credit reports and dispute anything that is not yours.
• List every monthly debt payment, even small ones.
• Write down the monthly payment you want, including taxes and insurance.
• Note how much you have saved for the down payment, closing costs, and a cushion after moving.

Step 2: Call a loan officer and get preapproved

This is the step most people are unsure about: who do you call? A licensed mortgage loan officer. In Maryland that is what Paola does at New Priority Lending Corp., and a first conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing. You describe what you want to buy and what you earn; the loan officer explains which loan types could fit and what a preapproval would require.

A preapproval letter says a lender is willing to lend you up to a certain amount based on the information reviewed. The CFPB explains that lenders use “prequalification” and “preapproval” differently, that lenders may check your credit for either, and that neither is a guaranteed loan offer. In practice, sellers and agents in Maryland expect to see one with your offer, so getting it before you shop saves you from falling in love with a house you cannot buy.

Step 3: Choose a real estate agent and search inside your range

With a preapproval in hand you know your ceiling. A real estate agent helps you find homes, write the offer, and manage contract deadlines; the loan officer keeps working on the financing. The two roles are different, and it is normal for them to talk to each other about timing.

As you look at houses, ask about property taxes, association fees, and the condition of the roof and systems, because those numbers change your monthly payment and your cash after closing even when the price does not.

• Search below your preapproval ceiling so you keep room for taxes, insurance, and repairs.
• Ask what the seller pays in Maryland transfer and recordation taxes and what you are expected to pay.
• Plan an inspection; the lender’s appraisal is about value, not condition.

Step 4: Make an offer and sign a contract

Your offer includes the price, your deposit, the closing date, and contingencies such as financing, inspection, and appraisal. Once the seller accepts, the contract dates become your calendar: the financing contingency deadline and the closing date are the two that involve your loan officer directly.

Send the signed contract to your loan officer the same day. From here, the clock on the formal application starts.

Step 5: Turn the preapproval into a full application

Under federal rules, a mortgage application exists once the lender has six pieces of information: your name, your income, your Social Security number, the property address, an estimate of the property’s value, and the loan amount you want. Within three business days of having those, the lender must give you a Loan Estimate, a standard three-page form that shows the proposed rate, monthly payment, closing costs, and cash to close.

Read it as one whole. A low rate with high costs is not automatically a good deal, and the form marks which numbers can change. You then tell the lender you intend to proceed; the CFPB notes that the lender only has to honor the estimate for ten business days, so do not sit on it.

Step 6: Underwriting checks the file and the house

Now the lender verifies everything: pay stubs and tax returns against the income you stated, bank statements against the money you plan to use, the credit report, and the property through an appraisal and a title search. Requests for one more document are normal and do not mean something is wrong.

The fastest files are the ones where nothing changes. Do not open new credit, change jobs, or move large sums between accounts without telling your loan officer first, and answer document requests the day they arrive.

• “Conditionally approved” means the underwriter wants specific items before final approval.
• The appraisal protects the lender’s collateral; your inspection protects you.
• Title, appraisal, insurance, and settlement companies each work on their own timeline.
• Only the lender’s written documents show the real status of your loan.

Step 7: Review the Closing Disclosure and close

At least three business days before closing you receive the Closing Disclosure, which lists the final terms and every cost. Put it next to your last Loan Estimate and look for changes in the loan amount, rate, payment, cash to close, lender credits, and fees. Anything you do not understand gets asked before closing day, not at the table.

Closing in Maryland usually happens at a title or settlement company. You sign the note and the deed of trust, funds move, the deed is recorded, and you get the keys. Keep the whole signed package; if your loan is later transferred to a new servicer, verify the notice before you send a payment anywhere new.

Questions to ask at every step, and where to get independent help

Good questions keep you in control: who owns the next step, which document proves it, what is still missing, and whether a number is an estimate, locked, or final.

If you want help that does not come from anyone being paid in the transaction, HUD-approved housing counseling agencies offer pre-purchase education and one-on-one counseling. A counselor is separate from your loan officer, agent, and settlement company.

• What has been verified, and what is still based on what I told you?
• Which deadline applies, who set it, and what happens if it moves?
• What changed since the last document you sent me?
• Where do I upload this securely?