Gett Pre-Approved Before Looking At Homes

By Kevin Forcey

When a buyer goes to purchase a home, it is a very exciting time to say the least. Everyone wants to have a good home buying process, unfortunately that doesn't always happen. This is usually because there are several home buyer mistakes that are made over and over again. Sometimes, these mistakes are made because the real estate professional working with the buyer fails to give them all of the proper information that they need. However, sometimes these mistakes are made by the buyer themselves and can be totally avoided.

One such mistake that buyers seem to make regularly is going out looking for houses without first being preapproved for a mortgage loan. There are two different kinds of "approval" methods. Often, you will hear real estate agents referring to being prequalified. This is simply when you speak to a mortgage lender and give them some basic information. They are "qualifying" you in a very short period of time using information you provide. This is not an approval, however. You want to get a preapproval letter before looking at homes. This means that the mortgage lender has looked at your credit and verified some of the information that you have given them such that they are able to provide you with a preapproval letter. This letter basically states that you are qualified for a particular mortgage loan as long as the information you provided is correct and nothing changes before closing.

Being preapproved before looking at homes solves several potential problems. The first problem is that most homeowners and real estate agents will not even consider an offer from you without a preapproval letter. It makes sense when you think about it because anyone could come off the street and make an offer on a home. If the buyer is really not qualified, the seller has wasted valuable time on the market by taking their home off the market for an unqualified buyer.

Buying a house has always had an element of negotiation attached to it. The person selling the home wants to get as much money as they can and you want to pay as little as possible for it. Obviously in an ideal world you can find somewhere in the middle of the price they want to get and the one you want to pay, then everyone is happy. Sadly enough we dont live in an ideal world, so you have to get all the tools you possibly can so that you get the best deal possible.

Having a pre-approval letter does not automatically mean that you will be able to buy a house at that maximum level, nor should you. As a wise man said, it is easier to borrow money than it is to pay it back. The letter will save you headaches when trying to get access to homes and it should speed up the buying process once you find the right home. - 31387

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