Getting pre-approved BEFORE you start your house hunting search is very important. Getting pre-approved means that you’ve been vetted by a lender and are financially and credit worthy of purchasing a home. How long does it take to get pre-approved? Could you start house hunting tomorrow and get pre-qualified in time? Read on for the answer to these questions and more!!

What is a Pre-Approval Letter?

A pre-approval letter is when a lender verifies a borrowers financial and credit information and determines how much the borrower(s) are qualified to borrow.  We look at your income, bank accounts, credit reports, and other financial documents to determine if you are qualified to buy the home. These documents help us determine how much you can borrow, the interest rate, and the loan programs you qualify for. Together we then pick the best loan program that fits your financial needs. As soon as you find a home that you want to purchase I issue a pre-approval letter for that specific property and the offer is either accepted or countered by the seller(s)

A pre-approval letter tells the buyer agent, listing agent and the sellers that you have talked with a lender and are equipped to buy the home. Buyers agents like to know that you’ve been pre-approved beforehand so you’re not wasting time looking at houses you can’t afford. There’s no point in looking at houses in the $350,000+ range when you can only afford and qualify for houses in the mid $200,000’s.

Another advantage of being approved is that your offer is more likely to be accepted from the listing agent as well. For example lets pretend you are listing agent and are looking at 2 identical offers. One offer has a pre-approval letter and one does not. Which offer are you going to accept?  Exactly! Pre-approval letters will greatly increase your chances of having your offer accepted!

How do I get Pre-Approved?

Good question! First, we schedule either a phone call or a sit-down meeting to collect some general information for the application. This usually takes about 15 minutes.  Once I see that you are credit worthy to buy the home I collect the following information:

1. 2 years Tax Returns
2. 2 Years W-2’s (For all jobs)
3. 1 Month Pay Stubs
4. 2 Months Bank Statements

This information simply verifies everything that you me told during the application process.  Often times we are going to ask for additional information, but this is the “core four” financial documents I need to be able to issue a pre-approval.

How Long Does It Take to Get Pre-Approved?

It depends on how soon you can get me your financial documents! Once the application process is complete, you credit score qualify, I collect and verify your information, I can now issue the pre-approval! It can happen in as little as 30 minutes!  If you wanted to start shopping for a house tomorrow could you get pre-qualified by tomorrow? Absolutely yes! You could start shopping today if you have your financial documents ready and available.

Get Pre-Approved Today!

Getting pre-approved can take as little as 30 minutes. A valid pre-approval letter is one of the most important steps in the home buying process. It tells the listing agent and the sellers that you are financially qualified to buy their home. If you are interested in purchasing a home and have 30 minutes of free time today, give me a call today!