{"id":1269,"date":"2016-09-21T15:40:48","date_gmt":"2016-09-21T22:40:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/?p=1269"},"modified":"2017-03-28T14:54:16","modified_gmt":"2017-03-28T21:54:16","slug":"what-personal-information-do-you-need-to-reveal-when-buying-a-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/what-personal-information-do-you-need-to-reveal-when-buying-a-home","title":{"rendered":"How Much Personal Information Do You Need to Reveal When Buying a Home?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Close<\/a><\/p>\n

During the home buying process, you\u2019ll be working with a range of professionals, including a real estate agent, loan officer, home inspector, appraiser, and a lawyer or representative from a title company. And while you may need to divulge some very personal information, like your annual income and debt history, not all of these people need to know the intricate details of your life.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

However, knowing what kind of information you should be prepared to share at various stages of the home-buying process will eliminate some of the guesswork and stress associated with this major life event. Plus, you can get a head start and begin the documentation gathering process now.<\/span><\/p>\n

What real estate pros need to know<\/b><\/p>\n

The typical home-buying experience begins with pre-qualifying for a home loan, during which you\u2019ll be working with a loan officer or mortgage loan originator. Out of all of those professionals, your loan officer will probably require the most information.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are some things that a loan officer might require:<\/span>
\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Information<\/th>Documentation<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Personal information<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u2022 Full name
\n\u2022 SSN or SIN
\n\u2022 Current address and residential history
\n\u2022 Legal issues<\/td>		Driver\u2019s license, passport or state-issued ID
\nSocial security card \/ Social insurance number
\nLandlord names and contact information (or letters showing positive rental history)
\n
\nCopy of divorce decree, documents detailing any
\nfinancial obligations not included in your credit report
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Financial information<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u2022 Annual income
\n
\n\u2022 Personal assets
\n
\n\u2022 Credit
\n\u2022 Debt and debt history<\/td>		Paystubs, W2s and federal tax returns (for US residents), proof of income statement from the Canada Revenue Agency, and any paperwork indicating other sources of income, such as alimony and child support payments
\nBank and investment account statements, asset statements for stocks, bonds etc., documentation for current real estate holdings
\nCredit report
\nCredit report and paperwork for debts not included in report<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/p>\n

Proper documentation helps to provide a complete picture of your financial standings, avoid any errors or confusion and speed up the loan approval process.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve been approved and start working with a<\/span> real estate agent<\/span><\/a>\u00a0or a buyer\u2019s agent, your agent will simply need to know your budget, what you\u2019re wanting in a home, and any needs as they relate to your lifestyle. <\/span><\/p>\n

Safeguarding confidential information<\/b><\/p>\n

Mortgage professionals and real estate agents have strict professional standards when it comes to handling personal information and preserving confidentiality.\u00a0<\/span>Mortgage Professionals Canada<\/span><\/a> and the\u00a0<\/span>National Association of Mortgage Brokers<\/span><\/a> (NAMB) both protect information arising from professional relationships with clients, noting that their members cannot divulge this information without the express authorization of said client, or as required by law. Similarly, the\u00a0<\/span>Canadian Real Estate Association<\/span><\/a> and the\u00a0<\/span>National Association of Realtors<\/span><\/a> promote the privacy rights and interests of consumers, and have specific guidelines around data security and the handling of private information.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you have any privacy or security concerns, ask your loan officer and real estate agent how they handle confidential information and who in their office has access to it. CEO of NAMB, Don Frommeyer, adds, \u201cIt is a good idea to ask your lender how they will handle your personal information and what do they do with it once they have completed your loan.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Most real estate professionals have formal security policies in place, in addition to having to follow industry standards, ethical codes and the law, but asking about their common practices and security software also should help put your mind at ease.<\/span><\/p>\n

Precautions that you can take<\/b><\/p>\n

As a consumer, there are several steps you can take to protect your information, as well. At home, make sure you have a firewall, antivirus and anti-spyware software properly installed and running. Check your wireless network and browser security settings to make sure any networked data is protected.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you store any private information on your computer or external hard drives, consider encrypting it first. And if you have to share any of this information electronically, be sure to use encryption software before sending it to the recipient (but don\u2019t include the password in the message, send it separately). Note that public networks and Wi-Fi hotspots are not secure, so try to avoid sending or accessing any private information on such networks, unless you have a personal virtual private network (VPN).<\/span><\/p>\n

Working with trusted professionals with whom you are comfortable lends itself to good communication and a stress-free transaction. Be sure to talk to your loan officer or real estate agent about any privacy concerns or questions you may have, because not only are they your best resource, they\u2019re also your strongest ally. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During the home buying process, you\u2019ll be working with a range of professionals, including a real estate agent, loan officer, home inspector, appraiser, and a lawyer or representative from a title company. And while you may need to divulge some very personal information, like your annual income and debt history, not all of these people … Continue reading How Much Personal Information Do You Need to Reveal When Buying a Home?<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[25],"tags":[307,286,339],"yst_prominent_words":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1269"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1269"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1269\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1807,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1269\/revisions\/1807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1269"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=1269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}