Get Pre-Approved for a Mortgage
The first step in your home buying process should be to get pre-approved for a mortgage, even if you're completely confident that you will be approved for the amount you want to borrow.
Here are some reasons why you should be pre-approved:
- If a home seller learns that you haven't been pre-approved for the amount you're offering for their home, they'll likely be very reluctant to accept your offer, as you'll essentially be taking their home off the market while you get financing together. If they tell you to come back once you've been pre-approved, you run the risk of another buyer swooping in and purchasing the home while you're waiting to hear back from the bank.
- If you end up in a multiple offer situation (i.e. bidding war), your offer will be at a serious disadvantage to the other offer(s). Your offer likely won't get accepted unless significantly better than the other offer(s).
- There could be errors on your credit report that you're unaware of. Getting these errors rectified prior to finding your next home will, at best, save you unnecessary frustration, and at worst, save you from potentially losing your dream home to another buyer.
- The interest rate quoted by your lender will be locked in for the period of the pre-approval (usually 90-120 days) protecting you should rates rise before finding your next home.
- Any REALTOR® worth using is going to expect you to be pre-approved before spending days/weeks/months helping you find the perfect home, otherwise they'll be out of business before too long. It shows that you're a serious buyer, and are looking at homes in the correct price range.
- It's so quick & easy to get pre-approved, there's really no reason not to. Getting pre-approved could be as easy as a single phone call, and many Mortgage Brokers will come right to your home to meet, if that's most convenient for you.