Pre-Approval & Why it is important

As we are making our way into 2017 I thought I would bring up a common question I receive, that question is why should I get pre-approved, or why should I get pre-approved now.

These are valid questions and one I would like to elaborate on here.

I would like to start with giving a brief definition of what a Pre-Approval is. A Pre-Approval is an evaluation of a potential borrower/buyer by a lender that determines whether the borrower qualifies for a loan from the lender, or the maximum amount that the lender would be willing to lend.

In today's day and age almost all Real Estate Agents will ask a potential buyer before they even take them to a showing or before they make an offer, are you Pre-Approved? This can make the difference between getting a property and losing one. A Pre-Approval is simple, it usually requires a 15-20 minute phone call (or meeting), some documents, and running of ones credit. There is no fee in obtaining the Pre-Approval. A Pre-Approval can also be updated and amended depending on your possible offers & in many cases no need to update credit (a credit report is usually valid for at least 90 days).

The second part of the question, why now, many people may think they are weeks, months, or even years away from buying, however, having the phone conversation to get Pre-Approved regardless of when you are looking to buy (this doesn't mean we will run your credit if you are not ready yet) can be very beneficial. It allows a potential buyer to do the necessary steps in order to be prepared for buying whenever that time may come. For someone a few weeks out, making sure they have enough income or assets to qualify, someone who is months out, to make sure their credit is inline or if there are mistakes (and trust me there are mistakes all the time) to have them corrected, and if they are years out well this is not as common but many times there can be proper preparations.

I believe in preparing all of my potential clients to be as ready as they can be for their potential purchase, and I would like my clients to be given the best shot they can to get into a property. I am happy to talk to buyers looking to buy tomorrow, next month, or even next year, everyone should have that call and I am happy to have it whenever you believe you may be buying.

Happy House Hunting!

Isaac Shalom

NMLS #3562