Have the Advantage – Get Preapproved
Have the Advantage – Get Pre-approved: One of the first things you should do when you decide to buy a home is get pre-approved by a lender.
Preapproval Letter
A preapproval simply means that you’re financially prepared. You’ve already shared your financial information with a lender by providing your work history, bank statements, and student loan and credit card statements.
The lender has checked your credit scores, income-to-debt ratios, down payment source, work history, income streams,and has made a preliminary decision to loan you X amount at Y percentage rate. The lender will provide you with a letter of pre-approval, so you will know exactly what your interest rate will be and how much you can spend.
Advantages
There are many advantages to getting preapproved by a lender. Interest rates cannot be secured without applying for a loan, so getting pre-approved means that you have an advantage by getting your interest rate locked in.
Now you can shop for a home with confidence, knowing you are buying within your affordability range. You’ll also find that being pre-approval gets respect from sellers. They know you are serious and have begun the loan process. While you don’t have to present your pre-approval letter to the seller, you can allow your agent to share the name of your lender to confirm that you have been pre-approved.
Closing
Keep in mind that a pre-approval is not a guarantee that your loan will close. Before closing, your lender will check your credit a second time, to make sure you haven’t added more debt or allowed a current debt to go unpaid. If the lender finds a blemish, you must take immediate action to fix the problem. Once you write a purchase contract for a home and your offer is accepted, notify your lender immediately, so the approval process can continue.
