Getting Preapproved

One of the first things you want to do when you think you might want to buy a home is talk to a mortgage loan officer. This is what is called "Getting Preapproved". The mortgage professional will obtain a lot of information from you and pull your credit report. Based on all of this information and assuming that everything you told them is correct, they can give you the price range for homes that you can afford. They can also tell you things that you should do to improve your credit score and secure a more favorable interest rate. A side note: Prequalified is not the same as preapproved. When you are prequalified, no credit report is pulled and the amount is based on information that you have supplied.

So, of course it is important for you to know what you can afford, but it is just as important for the seller to know that you can afford their home as well. A lot of time and money is wasted on buyers that just aren't qualified to purchase certain homes. If you don't know how much you can afford you might do the following. Call up your favorite realtor, me of course, find a neighborhood that you like, find a house that you love, write an offer on that house and then it gets accepted. The seller gets excited that they have sold their home. You spend money on getting a home inspection, about $300. You put down earnest money to secure the sale, about $500. Then you go talk to a mortgage officer and they say that they can't give you the loan because you don't have enough money!!!! You have then wasted your money for the inspection, possibly your earnest money and more importantly you have wasted the seller's time and took their home off the market for a while.

The moral of the story is, it is advantageous for everyone involved in the transaction if you go to the mortgage company and get preapproved before you make an offer on a home. You will potentially save money, you will feel more confident about your decision, and the seller is more likely to take your offer if they know that you have the funds to follow through with the sale.

If you are interested in buying a home, of course give me a call and let me know, but also call a mortgage loan officer so you can feel good about your decision. One of my favorite Mortgage professionals is Zack Lovett with Cornerstone Mortgage. His cell number is 501-681-7077. Feel free to call him anytime. He works 24hrs a day just like me!