If you’re in the market to buy a home, you need a pre-approval. There are a number of reasons why, including the fact that the seller probably won’t accept your offer without one.
When you’re out looking for a home to buy, the best thing you can do is find and hire a good Realtor whom you like and trust. It’s the single most important step to take.
After that, the next most important thing you can do to ensure a successful home purchase is to get a pre-approval.
This involves going to a lender, giving them all your financial information, and finding out what type of loan you can afford to pay back, whether that number is in terms of a monthly payment or a purchase price.
The benefits of getting a pre-approval are numerous. For example, it gives you an accurate estimation of what you can afford from a professional who works in this business every day. Online mortgage calculators can be great tools, but they can also be misleading if you trust what they say as fact. The only real way to know what you qualify for is with a pre-approval.
It lets the seller know you’re serious about buying.
Once you’re ready to make an offer on a home, most seller’s agents will require you to have a pre-approval anyway. Getting it done before you start looking at homes is a smart, proactive step. It will also give your offer a better chance of getting accepted. It lets the seller know that you are serious about buying and that you can afford the home.
There’s really no reason not to get a pre-approval. You can do it over the phone and submit documents electronically or have the meeting in person. Most lenders prefer the latter option.
As you can see, getting a pre-approval before buying a home is a no-brainer. If you have any questions about the process, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to help in any way that I can.
