There’s always the saying reduce, reuse, recycle but that’s not really what this post is about. We are more interested in looking at the things you should never throw away in order to get your mortgage approved. Part of the mortgage approval process is providing documents to confirm the details in your mortgage application. It’s nice to say that you make a million dollars a year but the lender is going to require proof that is actually true! Here are some key documents that the majority of lenders require to approve you for a mortgage:

• Notice of Assessments – The information you receive in the mail from the government regarding your tax returns. You should have at least 2 years of these on file.
• T1 Generals – Especially if you are self-employed but sometimes lenders will request these for further income details. These documents break down your income and are what you submit to the government for your taxes.
• Paystubs – Usually you will want to start saving these for a few months when you know you are in the market to buy a home, most lenders will require your most recent one.
• Property Tax Bill – If you are planning to refinance your home.
• Separation Agreements – You should always keep a copy of this in your files.
• Yearly Mortgage Statements – Once again if you are planning to refinance or if you plan to sell and buy a new home.
• ROE or Last Paystub – If you move jobs it’s always a good idea to keep a copy of your last paystub or your Record of Employment.

Now don’t tell your mortgage broker that you’ve thrown these away! And rather than having these documents in a cluttered pile we thought we’d share some really cute filing cabinet ideas with you that we found on Pinterest!