What questions do they ask on a mortgage application?
Mia Ramsey
Published Apr 10, 2026
Eight questions your mortgage lender will ask – and why
- How much do you earn? Annual income is a crucial factor for all mortgage lenders as it gives them an estimate of what they can realistically lend.
- Do you have any debts?
- What do you spend your money on?
- Do you have children?
- Where is the property?
What should you not say when applying for a mortgage?
10 things NOT to say to your mortgage lender
- 1) Anything Untruthful.
- 2) What’s the most I can borrow?
- 3) I forgot to pay that bill again.
- 4) Check out my new credit cards!
- 5) Which credit card ISN’T maxed out?
- 6) Changing jobs annually is my specialty.
- 7) This salary job isn’t for me, I’m going to commission-based.
Do mortgage applications ask health questions?
However, the financial watchdog and mortgage brokers say questions about a mortgage applicant’s health are not generally asked. Britain’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said mortgage lenders “do not routinely ask questions about your health as part of the mortgage application”.
Is race a question on mortgage application?
A form called the Universal Residential Mortgage Application contains all of the borrower questions required by federal law. If you’ve made the application in person and do not furnish ethnicity, race, or gender, federal law requires your lender to note the information on the basis of visual observation and last name.
How long do mortgage applications take?
As a general rule, you can expect it to take between around 18-40 days for your application to be processed, but if your application is complex it could take longer.
What happens after mortgage application?
Once you’ve applied (4–6 weeks) After you submit your application, your lender does a credit check on you, and also does what’s called an ‘affordability assessment’, to make sure you can actually afford the mortgage you’ve applied for. If everything goes well, you’ll get a formal notice called a mortgage offer.
Do you have to answer questions when applying for a mortgage?
Mortgage lenders will ask a lot of questions when you’ve giving a mortgage application. Be patient and answer as much as you can — even if they bank’s being a little bit nosy. Get today’s live mortgage rates now.
Can a lender ask if a woman is pregnant?
Even if a borrower is visibly pregnant, the lenders cannot ask about the pregnancy as part of the mortgage application, nor can it ask whether one or both parents will “stop working” once a child is born.
Can a mortgage lender ask about your health?
As one question, lenders may not ask about your health as part of your mortgage application. This is because to make a mortgage approval decision based on a person’s health could be considered discriminatory by the government.
Do you have to apply for a mortgage with both spouses?
The second reason is that, in states which are “community property” states, the debts of both spouses must be considered when applying for a government-backed mortgage — even if the application is in the name of one spouse only. There are currently nine community property states.
