Why Pre-Approval Matters

Why Pre-Approval Matters

It's so easy nowadays to go online and search for new listings as a homebuyer. Why bother with finding an agent, when the open house is there for you to go and visit by yourself? Go on Zillow or StreetEasy and set the price limits, check out the estimated mortgage payment that you think you can afford, and voila put down an offer. LOL if only if it were so simple. 

Without a pre-approval from a mortgage officer or bank, you are house hunting blind. You have no idea of what you can actually afford, but instead, you are looking at what you think you can afford. BIG DIFFERENCE. I can't begin to tell you how many people I have seen that were setback from purchasing their dream home, simply because they wanted to wait to find the right place before they spoke to a loan officer. 

Getting pre-approved tells you, on paper, how much house you can afford. This keeps you from literally wasting your time. This guides you on what you should really be looking at and setting your expectations in a very important way. Imagine going to look at your dream home priced at $850K, thinking "totally worth it, I can make it work, I have a 20% down payment saved already, I'm just going to go to the bank and get the rest. I have to take this off the market before it's gone!".

Happily, you go to the bank, smiling and chatting cheerfully. You hand over your necessary documents, which include:

• Proof of income (typically 2 recent paystubs if employed by someone else)
• Proof of assets (typically 2 recent bank statements)
• W2s and completed tax returns for the last 2 years
• Credit report

You're casually chatting away with the mortgage officer while they are waiting to hear back for how much loan you can be approved for. 10 minutes later, they tell you they can only approve you for $500K. You see how devasting this can be? Just because you have a figure in your head that you think you can afford, doesn't translate the same on paper. So, do yourself a favor and get pre-approved first so that you can avoid yourself the heartache of not being able to afford your dream home. 

Please share with your friends and family members who are looking to buy a home.

If you are looking to purchase a home in Queens, Bronx, Brooklyn, or Long Island, or you have questions on the home buying process, please feel free to contact me via email at catdoesrealestate@gmail.com