Before you make an offer on any home, your real estate agent WILL NEED a pre-qualification letter from your bank or lender. This is where we come in. No offer in today's environment is submitted without proof that you can get financing unless you are paying cash for the home. Before you begin to shop for a new home, you should set up a time to meet with me by phone or email, so that we can assess your needs and see how much you can qualify for. Once completed, and certain documents have been verified by our team, I will forward a letter of pre-qualification to your Realtor for submission with your offer to purchase.
Why is all this important? When you find a house that catches your eye, and you decide to make an offer, being pre-qualified for a mortgage will do a couple of things. First, it lets you know how much you can afford to offer. Your real estate agent will help you decide on an appropriate offer, but being pre-qualified gives you the confidence to know you can follow through.
More importantly, to a home seller or bank that is selling a foreclosure, being pre-qualified is like walking into their house with a suitcase full of cash to make the deal! They won't have to wonder if they're wasting their time because you'll never qualify for a mortgage to finance the amount you're offering for the home. You have the clout of a buyer ready to make the deal right now!
How long does this all take? Pre-qualification can be handled in about 24 hours once your info has been received, and pre-approval will generally take approximately 48 hours from the time I receive the written documents needed from you.
To get pre-qualified for a loan, I will collect information about your debt, income, and assets. We’ll look at your credit profile, assess your needs, your goals for a down payment and compare the different loan programs available for you and the monthly mortgage payment obligation. Ultimately, we will choose the perfect mortgage for your individual situation.
It is important to understand that a pre-qualification letter is an estimate of what you are eligible to borrow, not a commitment to lend. Getting pre-approved for a loan gives you an even bigger competitive advantage when the time comes to bid on a home because you have been formally approved for a loan for a specified amount.
To get pre-approved, we will complete a mortgage application and you will provide me with various information verifying your employment, assets and financial status such as W-2 forms, paycheck stubs and bank statements. We’ll review your mortgage options and submit your application to the lender that best meets your needs. Once the application process is complete you will receive a pre-approval letter indicating the amount your lender is willing to lend you for your home.
A pre-approval letter is not binding on the lender; it is subject to an appraisal of the home you wish to purchase and certain other conditions. If your financial situation changes (e.g. you lose your job), interest rates rise or a specified expiration date passes, your lender must review your situation and recalculate your mortgage amount accordingly.
For a list of items generally required to get pre-qualified see our Loan Application page.
