Should I Get Pre-Qualified?

The first step in the home loan process.

If you are considering buying a home, the first step in the process is to consider getting pre-qualified.  The following is an outline of some of the reasons to get pre-qualified prior to shopping:

Determine your sales price range– Getting pre-qualified will help you determine a sales price range that is ideal for your financial situation. Your Mortgage Banker can explain the different loan types, down payment options, and help you zero in a sales price, and mortgage payment, that fulfills your financial needs.  This can be helpful as you begin searching for your dream house because you won’t fall in love with a house that you might not be able to afford.

Offer with confidence – Not only does a pre-qualification provide insight as to the appropriate home to shop for,  it also gives you a competitive advantage against cash buyers and other offers. When a seller is reviewing offers for a home, your pre-qualification letter stating that your income, assets, credit, and debts have been reviewed by a lender provides extra strength to your offer. Often a seller will contact the lender to inquire about a borrower’s qualification standards. By fully completing the pre-qualification process, a lender will able to vouch for your strength as a borrower with confidence, often helping you win a deal.

Streamlined processing – By completing the pre-qualification application you can get one of the most time consuming parts of the loan process out of the way: document collection. The mortgage process can be document intensive and providing documentation during the pre-qualification process can cut down on the number of requests you will receive from your lender during the processing and underwriting portion of the mortgage process.

Working with your lender during the pre-qualification process will give you an opportunity to find a home loan solution that will fit both your short and long term financial goals. To learn more about the mortgage process contact us at info@sentemortgage.com.