Home loan approval: getting your paperwork right the first time

Banks reject or delay far more applications for incomplete paperwork than for genuine eligibility failures. Getting the file right at submission is the single biggest thing you control.

Before you apply

Pull your own credit report first. A score above 750 gets you the best published rates; below 700 and you should fix the underlying issue before applying, because every rejected application leaves a mark.

Check for old credit cards you forgot to close, a co-signed loan you have no visibility into, and small disputed amounts sitting unresolved. These are the usual culprits.

The document set

Identity and address: PAN, Aadhaar, passport or voter ID.

Income, salaried: last three months' salary slips, six months of bank statements showing salary credit, Form 16 for two years, and the employment certificate.

Income, self-employed: three years of ITR with computation, audited financials, six months of current-account statements, and business registration proof.

Property: the allotment letter, builder's demand letter, approved plans, and the developer's project-approval reference — most large developers already have the project pre-approved with major banks, which shortens this considerably.

What actually causes delays

• Salary credited in cash or through an account not submitted
• A gap between the address on Aadhaar and the one on the application
• ITR filed but not verified
• The property being in a project the bank has not yet approved

A practical sequence

Get a pre-approval before you finalise a property. It tells you your real budget, makes you a more credible buyer with the developer, and moves the bulk of the documentation work to a point where you are not also under a booking deadline.