Should
you talk to a mortgage professional
before house hunting?
Absolutely! 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, and 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!
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 their 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 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.
