Buying a Home
Buying a home? There’s one thing you need to do first.
Contact a Lender! 
I know, I know…You’ve heard that before. I also understand this can cause anxiety if it’s been a while since you looked at your finances in detail, but this can save you money. It can also put you ahead of your competition when you submit an offer.
Contacting a lender can put you ahead of the competition when YOU need it most.
The first time I called a lender to discuss buying a home, what I wanted (more than anything), was a way to know everything they wanted before I ever got there. This was a big source of my anxiety.
If this is preventing you from contacting a lender – click the link below and I’ll send you a list of everything the loan officers are looking for to approve you for a loan!
This list will provide you with the valuable knowledge of knowing what the lender wants before you ever meet the lender, which means you’ll be a step ahead before you even make your appointment.
Once you review the list you’ll understand -
- Why pre-approval letters and pre-qualification letters are not the same.
- Why stated information to the lender is the worst way to get approved.
- What a good pre-approval is based on and why listing brokers can easily pick them out.
- Why listing brokers prefer to present contracts to their seller with pre-approval letters.
- How to get a huge head start on the docs your processor will ask for anyway.
- How to easily shop multiple lenders in a fraction of the time it normally takes.
What next?
Once you’ve downloaded and saved the list, collect the items and contact your lender or any lender you’d like to request a quote from.
I’ve helped client’s purchase homes in today’s tough lending environment. This list will help.
“As a mortgage loan officer I deal with a lot of realtors. Two things that immediately stand out when I think of Walid is his consistent professionalism and his dedication to his clients. He should go far in this industry keeping the same path.” August 8, 2007
Al Overton, Loan Originator, New World Mortgage
Pre-approval and pre-qualification letters from lenders are not the same.
Listing brokers and agents know this. We know from experience and from reading a bunch of letters, the type of information the lender collected from you to generate the letter.
If we’re presenting your offer to a seller, especially if there are multiple offers, we’ll often call your lender and ask about their approval process.
What do you mean by “information the lender collected”?
Many pre-qualification letters, and some pre-approval letters are “stated”.
What is “stated”?
You told the lender income and asset information, your credit report was pulled and they wrote a letter good for 30 days and blammo! You’re off to look at homes. The lender didn’t receive documentation to back up the information given.
Your letter and offer aren’t as strong as a client who has presented an offer with a pre-approval letter backed by documentation.
Remember – the seller will not only look at financial terms, but will also consider how strong the buyer’s offer and ability to close are, based on this information.
This insight will come from your lender’s pre-approval letter!
So what does a good pre-approval letter look like?
A good solid pre-approval typically includes language that says “based on review of the following documentation…”
What is this documentation?
It’s typically everything the underwriter will require from the processor to approve your loan – the good news?
You can provide most of it upfront!
So I can almost sail through underwriting?
Yep. A well documented pre-approved client is typically waiting to provide 6 things to the lender -
- the contact information of the Realtor
- a contract on a home
- the appraisal to come back ok
- the closing attorney’s information
- clear title from the attorney’s office
- and the contact information for the insurer
I’ve suggested an additional step that’s worked out really well for my clients, especially if you want to shop lenders.
Additional Step: Group your documents. Scan the groups and save the files so that you can email them to lenders. This makes it easy to send your docs to multiple lenders and it’s easy to keep track of what you sent to each lender.
If you’re not comfortable scanning the docs and saving them, FedEx Kinkos can help you.