Want a seller to accept your offer? You need a pre-approval!

By Amy Smith, Mortgage Planner

Have you ever purchased something online and when it shows up at your door a few days later thought to yourself, wow, that was easy and painless?!   Well, buying a home isn’t that easy.  It’s a process and it involves a lot of moving parts.  Before you start to shop, you need to make sure that you qualify for a loan.  This is where the importance of getting a pre-approval comes in.  Without one, no good real estate agent will work seriously with you and no seller will accept an offer you make to purchase their home.  Things you should know about a pre-approval:

1.   A pre-approval is based on three basic things:  Income, Assets and Credit.
   
2.   You must supply supporting documentation on the three items above for a true pre-approval.  Pay stubs, W-2’s and Asset Statements are a few of the basic items needed.  Your loan originator will also request information to pull your credit.
3.  A pre-approval is typically good for 60 days.  At that point, a new credit report will need to be run and you will need to send updated pay stubs and asset statements.
4. The pre-approval process should be completed BEFORE you start looking at homes.  This helps to eliminate the disappointment of finding the perfect home only to discover that you don’t qualify for it or that you do, but you can’t get a pre-approval letter in time to compete with other offers. Don’t let this be you!  Be prepared!

There really is no such thing as casually shopping when it comes to buying a home.  Getting a pre-approval allows you to avoid the disappointment of missing out on your dream home. Not sure if you're ready to get pre-approved? Not a problem, feel free to spend some time playing with our mortgage calculators, download our mortgage app or request a copy of our new homebuyers guide.