When
and Why to Pre-Qualify for
Your Home Mortgage
See Your Mortgage Loan Officer First
Even if you haven't so much as picked out houses to visit yet, it's important to see your mortgage professional first.
Why? What
can we do
for you if
you haven't
negotiated a
price, and
don't know
how much you
want to
borrow?
When we
pre-qualify
you, we help
you
determine:
- How much of a monthly mortgage payment you can afford
- How much we can loan you.
We do this by considering your income and debts, your employment and residence situations, your available funds for down payment and required reserves, and some other things. It's short and to the point, and we keep the paperwork to a minimum!
Pre-Qualification Letter
Once you
qualify, we
give you
what's
called a
Pre-Qualification
Letter (your
real estate
agent might
call it a
"pre-qual"),
which says
that we are
working with
you to find
the best
loan to meet
your needs
and that
we're
confident
you'll
qualify for
a loan for a
certain
amount.
When you
find a house
that catches
your eye,
and you
decide to
make an
offer, being
pre-qualified
for a
mortgage
will do a
couple of
things. First, it
lets you
know how
much you can
offer. Your
real estate
agent will
help you
decide on an
appropriate
offer, but
being
pre-qualified
gives you
the
confidence
to know you
can follow
through.
More
importantly,
to a home
seller, your
being
pre-qualified
is like you
walked into
the seller's house
with a
suitcase
full of cash
to make the
deal! They
won't have
to wonder if
they're
wasting
their time
because
you'll never
qualify for
a mortgage
to finance
the amount
you're
offering for
the home.
You have the
clout of a
buyer ready
to make the
deal right
now!
You can
always use
the
home
mortgage calculators
available on
our site to
get an idea
of
how much
mortgage you
can afford
-- but it's
important to
meet with
us. For one
thing,
you'll need
a
Pre-Qualification
Letter! For
another
thing, we
may be able
to find a
different
mortgage
program that
fits your
needs
better.
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