I, like most good Realtors in Sarasota, Florida, spend most of my time either
searching for homes for my buyers in MLS, setting up showing appointments and driving them around looking at
homes. That’s my job and it is very time intensive. So one of my first
questions to a potential buyer who will be getting a mortgage is: “Have you
gotten a pre-approval from a bank or mortgage broker?” Why is this so
important? Getting pre-approved for a home loan before you start looking at
houses — and certainly before you make any offers — can make your life much
easier. You’ll know how much money mortgage lenders will give you and you won’t
waste time touring houses you can’t afford or making an offer on a house that
you can’t back up.
I can't tell you how often I am contacted by a potential
buyer who wants to look at homes, yet they have no idea if they are even
qualified to purchase. This is the classic case of the "cart before the
horse". If you haven't been pre-approved, you're home shopping in the dark
without a flashlight. You may be looking in a price range that you cannot
afford. Or…you may be able to afford much more than you think!
It is a well known fact that few listing agents will risk taking their listing off of the
market unless they are convinced that you are fully qualified to make the
purchase and this is especially true in a buyers market like we have in
Sarasota, Florida right now. This means a lot of housing for sale could have multiple
buyers considering it, and may end up starting a bidding war. You don't want to
go into a transaction without pre-approval when another buyer could have that
simple letter, making them a more attractive buyer to a seller. For this
reason, the listing agent usually requests that a pre-approval letter is
submitted with all offers. If you don't include one, your offer will most
likely be rejected. If you put yourself in the seller’s shoes, an earnest money
check and offer without anything supporting the qualification of the potential
buyer to purchase would be a very bad risk to accept, wouldn't you agree? Especially with multiple buyers waiting in the wings.
Pre-approval typically involves pulling credit, looking at
debt-to-income ratios and other financial aspects of your life. Getting on the
road to mortgage-readiness could include things like paying down debt and
increasing your credit score.
My advice: get in touch with a lender right away and get pre-approved
before shopping for homes! If you're out looking for homes - either on the
road in real life or on the internet with sites like RE/MAX.com, Homes.com or
Zillow - it's a good idea to prepare yourself for getting a mortgage well in advance. I will walk you through the process and then we can hit the road and find the perfect home
for you in Sarasota, Florida!
