If you’ve been thinking about buying a home, you may be wondering when the right time is to begin seriously exploring your financing options. Should you wait until you’ve found a home?
While it’s possible to hold off on financing decisions until late in the process, we highly recommend getting a loan officer on your team as early as possible. They’ll listen to your situation, get to know your goals, and can put together a pre-qualification letter based on a snapshot of your finances.
Improve your search
Whether you’re beginning to look for your first home or your fourth, getting pre-qualified for a mortgage loan may make your search more efficient and effective.
A pre-qualification from a lender serves as a demonstration to both real estate agents and sellers that you’re serious. That can help you find a great real estate agent and then strengthen your offer once you’ve found a home you love.
You don’t need to have a specific property in mind to get pre-qualified.
Get you an idea of where you stand
Final approval of your loan is dependent on a thorough examination of your credit, income, debts and assets. Getting pre-qualified, though, requires just a few pieces of information and very little documentation.
Within just a few minutes, you’ll have a general idea of the amount and type of loan for which you could potentially qualify.
Having a price range when you start shopping may help you be more targeted in your home search.
There’s no obligation
While it may be more convenient to continue the loan application process with the lender that assists you with your pre-qualification, there is no obligation to do so. Likewise, getting pre-qualified doesn’t stop you from comparing interest rates and loan terms of other lenders.
However, keep in mind that your pre-qualification will typically come with a stated expiration date, usually about 90 days from its issuance.
Ready to get pre-qualified or have additional questions? Contact your Castle & Cooke Mortgage loan officer today!
