Give yourself a competitive advantage with a mortgage pre-approval.
If you have been shopping for a home recently, I don’t have to tell you that it is very competitive. People are snapping up homes after one day on the market. Sellers often have the option to choose between multiple offers.
As a buyer you face a challenge – how to get your offer accepted on the home you want to buy. Firstly, you have the traditional elements of your offer. These include price, due diligence and earnest money amounts, and time to close. Each of these differentiators can help you win in a competitive offer situation. Another differentiator you may not be aware of is the mortgage pre-approval.
Traditionally, a realtor asks their buyer clients to work with a mortgage Loan Officer to get pre-qualified. The pre-qualification process includes putting in a mortgage application without a specific property identified. The Loan Officer will analyze the numbers you put on your application in order to calculate the highest priced home you can afford. The Loan Officer may ask for some documentation, but usually not all the documents need to fully process a loan.
Pre-Approval Versus Pre-Qualification
Moreover, some lenders are willing to take the next step to provide you with a pre-approval. In the pre-approval process, you provide all of the documentation you would normally provide to process a loan. This includes pay stubs, W-2s, bank statements, and more. This must be provided before you get a property under contract. The lender’s underwriting department reviews those documents. If everything is in order, they’ll issue a conditional approval. Conditional approval is the full approval as a buyer. If the title work and appraisal for your property are acceptable your loan will be approved.
The thorough verification of the pre-approval process puts you in the same position as a cash buyer, ahead of those bidders who have only been pre-qualified. A pre-approved buyer can also close more quickly than a pre-qualified buyer in many cases, giving you an additional advantage.
In summary
In conclusion, the real estate market favors sellers in many markets around the US today. Buyers are often in a situation where there are many competing offers on a property they want to buy. Mortgage pre-approval can give a buyer a competitive advantage in multiple offer situations in two ways – by making them equivalent to a cash buyer and by shortening the time needed to close.
- Contact Steven
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