One of the most frequently asked question that I have been receiving over the past month is “What does it mean to be Pre-Approved?”. This is such a great question!
As many of you know, the first thing I recommend a home buyer do is speak with their lender and receive pre-approval for a mortgage. This helps YOU in two ways:
- The meeting will let you know what type of loans and loan amount you qualify for. Many people put off speaking to a lender, because they are afraid to hear “Bad News”, but listen to me… whether you hear “bad news” now or later, the news will be the same.The last thing you want to do is fall in love with a house, have your offer accepted, only to realize a lender will not loan you the amount. Do yourself, and your heart, a favor, and speak to a lending professional. As a REALTOR, I can refer you to various lenders throughout the county, or speak to your current lender about mortgages.
- Places a gold star on your offer! Well not literally, but it certainly makes your offer more appealing to the seller. Typically if a seller sees you are pre-approved, they can breathe a small sigh of relief knowing that your deal will most likely NOT fall through due to lack of financing. This can be the difference between your offer being accept, or someone else’s offer being accept.
If you wish to read more about the pre-approval process, check out this article on foxbusiness.com.
As always, you can reach me at shanna.koval@marshamarsh.com with any questions you may have.
Written by Shanna Koval, REALTOR®
Shanna is frequently tweeting about real estate opportunities and also posts current real estate listings and valuable information on her website (sellingerie.org) as well as on her Facebook page.
While Shanna is interested and capable of handling any type of real estate transaction, her specialties include residential, first-time buyers and seller, as well as relocation.