In many markets across the country, the number of buyers searching for their dream homes greatly outnumbers the number of homes for sale. This has led to a competitive marketplace where buyers often need to stand out. One way to show you are serious about buying your dream home is to get pre-qualified or pre-approved for a mortgage before starting your search.
Understanding your budget and knowing how much home you can truly afford will give you the confidence of knowing if your dream home is within your reach, and can help you move faster in competitive markets. Getting pre-approved is one of many steps that will show home sellers that you are serious about buying, and it often helps speed up the process once your offer has been accepted.
When you choose the Tuttle Group as your mortgage lender, we are not only going to provide you with a pre-approval letter but we are going to provide a full pre-underwrite. A pre-underwrite takes the loan approval process a step further by reviewing and verifying all required documentation, income, and asset information upfront to give you a more “solid” approval for a perspective buyer. This guarantees faster closings and strengthens your pre-approval letter over others.
Next Steps to Pre-Approval
To get pre-approved, you’ll need to provide some important information about your credit, debt, work history, down payment, and residential history. You can submit a quick inquiry form here to get started. This information helps your lender evaluate your 4 C’s to determine how much you may be qualified to borrow:
- Capacity. As lenders, we look at your income, employment history, savings, and monthly debt payments, such as credit card charges and other financial obligations, to make sure that you have the means to take on a mortgage comfortably now, and in the coming years.
- Capital. Lenders consider your readily available money and savings plus investments, properties, and other assets that you could sell fairly quickly for cash. Having these reserves proves that you can manage your money and have funds, in addition to your income, to pay the mortgage.
- Collateral. We take into account the value of the property and other possessions that you’re pledging as security against the loan.
- Credit. Lenders check your credit score and history to assess your record of paying bills and other debts on time. Whether or not you plan to buy a home now, building and maintaining good credit is always a good idea. It’s an important factor if you do decide to apply for a mortgage or any other credit line in the future, such as a student loan, car loan, or credit card.
If you qualify for a loan, you’ll be provided with a pre-approval letter outlining the amount you are qualified to borrow and the terms of your new loan. Keep in mind, you should only borrow what you are comfortable with and make sure not to overextend yourself.
Get Your Pre-Approval
Bottom line, in today’s competitive market the most important step in the mortgage process for a buyer is getting pre-approved. Not only are properties selling faster, but often there are multiple offers to bid against for the home of your dreams. Having the strongest offer will certainly give you an advantage and remove concerns from a seller.
Let a loan specialist at The Tuttle Group help you with your dreams of homeownership today! Contact us to get started on your pre-approval.
