What is a pre-approval and why do I need one?

When you put an offer on a property and the seller accepts that offer, the seller is then going to take their property off the market.  Typically sellers will not do this unless they know that the buyer is pre-approved for a mortgage.  Also, typically agents will not take you around to see properties unless you are pre-approved.

You and the agent you are working with do not want to spend time looking in the wrong price range.  Or, if you need credit repair, you and the agent wouldn't want to look at inventory now when you won't be ready to purchase for another few months. 

The first step to a pre-approval is getting sufficient information to run credit.  We will then need to document your income and assets.  By putting these two pieces of information together, we can determine the best loan program for you, and definitively tell you your maximum sales price you can target.  You should receive then a pre-approval letter tailored to you.  Once we have your docs and your credit report, we can immediately give you this letter so you can start looking for properties.

In this process, you'll learn what payment to expect, how much closing costs will be, and what your total cash obligation is.