Assets are items that a buyer owns that have monetary value. Cash and cash equivalent assets should be listed on their mortgage application because they carry the most weight. These would include cash on hand, money market accounts, saving accounts or CDs. Most of these types of funds can easily be traded as cash in a short amount of time and are considered liquid assets.
Not all assets can be used directly for a down payment for a home purchase. These would be physical assets such as cars, jewelry or other properties. To use these as assets, they would need to be sold, with the proceeds documented in a bank account.
Nonphysical assets would be pensions, 401(k)s, IRAs, stocks and bonds. These assets are not considered liquid because they require a lot of planning to get rid of them in order to use the proceeds towards a down payment.
Strength can be given to a loan application by including any fixed assets. These assets may be furniture, antiques, artwork or real estate. These assets are harder to cash in, and their value does fluctuate.
The mortgage application process should include the listing of any equity assets. These would include retirement accounts, stocks and mutual funds. If some of the investments are government bonds or securities that are being lent in exchange for interest, then these fixed-income assets should also be included.
Call or email me, and I can help your buyers determine what assets they have and which ones to include on their mortgage applications.