The Pre-Approval: What Serious Home Buyers Should Know [VIDEO]

Are you serious about owning a home, or are you just messing around?

One of the most important first steps to take once you’ve decided to purchase a home is to talk with a trusted Loan Officer and get pre-approved.  With a pre-approval in hand, you’re one step closer to actually owning a home and bidding your ever-rising rents good-riddance.

For example— if you’re out viewing homes and you stumble across your DREAM HOME, chances are you’ll want to make a move on it, correct? Chances are also good that without a pre-approval, your offer won’t be acknowledged as “LEGIT”— unless you’re buying all cash.

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If you’re not a “CASH” buyer, but you’re serious about buying real estate, then you’ll want to get pre-approved as soon as possible— prior to going out and viewing homes if possible.

A pre-approval essentially tells the listing agent and the seller that “a lender has verified my financials, looked at my credit, plugged me into the underwriting system, and obtained an approval based on the preliminary information, up to the amount stated on the pre-approval!”

Having been pre-approval prior to beginning your actual house-hunt streamlines the home buying process and allows you to seamlessly take action towards purchasing a property immediately upon viewing it.  This way, as soon as you find the property you want, your Realtor can submit a complete package including your offer (here’s some great info on the offer) AND your pre-approval to the seller and their agent, which will place you in a much stronger position for negotiating than without one.

Now if you have some bumps and bruises on your credit or you’re in between jobs, don’t worry— we’re going to have some other videos for you and we can help you out.  In the meantime, here are some great tips from MyFICO.com to help you improve your credit.

Look, you’re still going to go through the loan approval process once you get your offer accepted, but the PRE-APPROVAL is going to help get your foot in the door with the listing agent and seller.

Needed Items

Some of the documents your Loan Officer may need from you in order to complete your pre-approval are:

  • Last 2 years of Tax Returns
  • Last 2 years of W-2’s or K-1’s (for corporations)
  • Recent pay stubs
  • Last 60 days of bank statements and any investment account statements
  • Divorce decrees, alimony and child support documents (if any)

So again— if you’re serious about buying a home, put some effort towards getting these documents to your Loan Officer and get your pre approval going so you’ll be READY when your perfect home hits the market.  

If you would like some suggestions for trusted Loan Officers in San Diego, let us know!

Give us a call at (619) 537-6016 or shoot us an email: info@wordpress-572194-2581428.cloudwaysapps.com!

We aim to be your go-to real estate team for life!

Let us know how we can help you!