Currently viewing the tag: "pre-approval"
Oftentimes, experienced home buyers who have bought and financed a home before have old expectations about the process. I encourage you to remove any old understanding you have about getting a mortgage or the Minnesota real estate market. Things have changed. There is a new normal and it includes verifying more information upfront.
For home buyers in the market to buy a home today, don’t let multiple offer situations get you down. There are some things you need to know and be prepared for the multiple offer game of tug-o-war in this real estate market. These things can help increase the potential for your success:
You’re thinking that you’re ready to start the process of looking to buy a home and you need to get pre-approved. First, let me explain why this needs to be done up front. It may seem obvious to you, but for a lot of people, it’s simply not. You start looking around online and you find some homes that interest you. You contact a real estate agent and if you’re speaking to an experienced agent, one of the questions they will undoubtedly ask you in your first conversation will be whether you’ve been pre-approved for a mortgage.
There are less homes on the market to choose from if you’re looking to purchase a home as fewer homes are coming on the market. This tends to lead to needing to react quickly, especially if you’re in a first time home buyer price range where there are likely multiple people interested in the same property price range.
We try to make the pre-approval process a seamless one for you so that you don’t have to guess what’s next in the process. Once you’ve provided us with the necessary documentation, the time to complete pre-approval is short. We want you to be able to get out looking at houses as soon as you’re ready, but we also want to be sure that your pre-approval is valid and that you understand your loan options and the financial considerations of buying a home.
Whether you’re a first time home buyer or a home buyer who owns a home now or has in the past, your credit will impact what mortgage loan terms you are offered today and some simple things can take you from a, “not yet” to a simple yes, bring you into qualifying for programs you otherwise wouldn’t, or could save you .25-.50% in interest over a 30-year term. Yes folks, today, credit matters in a way it hasn’t in the past. If you pay attention, you can save thousands of dollars and maybe even a serious headache or two.
Firstly, let me tell you this is not about scaring anyone – it is about educating people. It is absolutely essential that every home buyer and real estate agent understand what I am about to explain. There’s a reason that we don’t send you out shopping for homes before actually being pre-approved. There are actually a number of good reasons and most of them are for your own protection, not ours.
Buying a first home can be overwhelming, especially in today’s mortgage lending and real estate environment. If you listen solely to the media, you could believe it’s easy to just go into a bank owned or short sale property, make an offer significantly less than the listing price and strike a deal. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. You could also believe that nobody is getting a mortgage pre-approval or that the mortgage pre-approval process is terrible. Again, this is not the case.
Real estate radio programs are all over the airwaves today. Our show is truly designed to educate you about what you need to know in today’s mortgage and real estate market in the Twin Cities and answer questions about your own real estate and mortgage needs, and, it’s brought to you by experts.
You’re submitted your application and supporting documentation – what’s the next step?
It’s time to talk details now. You’ve supplied everything you needed to in order to get the process started. Credit has been reviewed, taxes, paycheck stubs and bank statements have been sent in and your pre-qualification is validated. Now, here’s where the education really starts!
It’s time for a sit-down, in my in my book, this is the most important meeting you need to have before buying a home. It should be face-to-face, but can be handled over the phone if necessary.
Watch this video for information on the upcoming First Time Home Buyer Class
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