Getting Pre-Approved For Your Home Loan

When you are ready to start the home buying process, the first and most important thing you must do is get financially pre-approved for your home loan.

• You want to have a clear idea of closing costs and monthly obligations so that you can determine not just how much you can afford, but more importantly how much you want to spend. By doing this you can avoid the disappointment of looking at houses out of your price range.
• By getting the paperwork out of the way, you take the guess work and much of the stress out of the home buying process. Once you have been pre-approved, you can focus on finding the right home with confidence.
• The third and most important reason is a home seller needs to know you are financially approved for a home loan before they will negotiate an offer with you. And, if a seller receives two or more offers on their property (yes, this still happens) and the offers are for basically the same price and terms, a seller is far more likely to choose the buyer who has been pre-approved. 

Understand that there is a big difference between getting "Pre-Qualified" and getting "Pre-Approved".  A pre-qualification is a about a 10 minute conversation with a loan officer, you tell them your income and financial obligations, they run your credit; and they give an opinion as to what you can be approved for.  This is OK if you will not be purchasing for a while.  However, if you will purchase in the next few months, a pre-approval is a must in my opinion.  This consists of you filling out the loan application, supplying all needed paperwork to the lender (ie. tax returns, W-2's, bank statements, etc). They will also verify your employment, salary, debt, and many other things.  This process can take about 7-10 days.  There will be other items they will need from you once you are under contract for a home, but with this, you are way ahead of the game.  And, home sellers love a buyer who is actually Pre-Approved and will look at your offer more favorably. 

Not all mortgage companies and loan officers are equal.  As your Buyer's Agent I will give you the names of mortgage lenders who have a reputation for excellent service and competitive rates.  I only work with them because they get the job done, they are honest and get you to closing on time.