Mortgage applications are a real pain on the brain, consumers say. But rather than chance having your loan application denied because you don't understand it—or worse—get some help completing it.

"Fill out the application in coordination with an experienced loan officer," says Sean Sullivan, vice president of Princeton Capital in Los Gatos.

Applying for a home loan begins with what should be the simple task of filling in the blanks, but consumers say filling out the applications is more perplexing than preparing income tax returns, filling out health insurance benefit forms, reading investment account statements and poring over the stock market listings in the local newspaper.

It's no wonder their eyes glaze over when it's time to sit down to go over the even more complicated settlement sheet and other loan documents necessary to close the loan—which can be even more daunting, says Sullivan.

Mortgage applications were most often rated the documents most "difficult to understand" when Los Angeles­based brand-strategy firm Siegel & Gale asked a randomly chosen group of 1,709 consumers aged 18 and older to rate how easy it is to read and understand documents they had actually encountered in the past 30 days.

The five commonly used documents rated most "difficult to understand" were:

Mortgage applications, 60 percent

Health insurance benefits forms, 57 percent

Federal income tax returns, 48 percent

Newspaper stock market listings, 46 percent

Investment account statements, 42 percent

Perplexity Poll: Americans Befuddled by Business Documents and Healthcare Communications reveals consumers are confused by a host of financial documents, including insurance documents that explain benefits and financial-investment statements, as well as contracts and leases, product-instruction manuals and computer-related documents.

"When 60 percent of the respondents rate mortgage applications and explanations of health insurance benefits as difficult to understand, it's shocking," said Alan Siegel, chairman of Siegel & Gale.

Consumers have an easier time understanding nutrition labels on food products, car manuals, wireless phone bills, airplane safety instruction cards, catalog order forms, checking account statements, credit card statements, payroll stubs and energy labels on appliances.

The study found that a complex layout was cited as what often makes documents difficult to understand, and Siegel & Gale says making applications easier to follow could help.

Consumer advocates and mortgage experts have long advised consumers to seek help with mortgage documents because consumers simply don't encounter them as often as, say, pay stubs, phone bills, nutrition labels and the like.

Also, incorrectly completing a mortgage application can lead to loan denial, higher rates and other problems.

"There is a legal liability. The lender relies upon what is put into, say, the income area. If there is a problem later, say a default on a payment, the lender goes back and checks the income. If it was misstated, you could be subject to criminal and civil penalties," said Mike Donohoe, broker/owner of Silver Creek Financial in San Jose.

One of the dangers is reporting too little income: say, net income when the application asks for gross income. That could result in loan denial or a higher rate.

"The consumer and the mortgage professional need to agree that they fully understand what the loan application is specifically asking," said Donohoe.

Experts also say confused consumers should especially think twice about completing applications online without assistance from a trusted, knowledgeable family member, friend or expert.

"Even if you fill it out online and then submit it, you have to have a conversation with the mortgage professional to go over it point by point. I would want the consumer to call to make sure they've gotten it and understood everything," said Donohoe.

Real estate writer Broderick Perkins, executive editor of San Jose-based DeadlineNews.Com, writes regularly for this newspaper.