Before you get started with your home search, it is recommended to get pre-approved for a mortgage. A pre-approval is an excellent chance to know about your purchasing power. At Belmares Properties, we tell you the reasons why you should get pre-approved before shopping around for a house.

Become a More Confident Homebuyer

When you are pre-approved, you will feel more confident. You will know about the price range that you can afford and the expected monthly payments. 

As a pre-approved homebuyer, you will also be better positioned in a seller’s market. A seller’s market is low on inventory. If you come across the perfect house, there is a good chance it will not stay on the market for long. Without pre-approval, you will have to make a solid offer as quickly as possible. 

It is best not to rush getting pre-approved when you are already searching. Remember, there will be other pre-approved homebuyers who will easily have an edge over you. Explore more reasons why you should get pre-approved:

i. Become a Homebuyer with More Power

When you are backed by a lender, sellers and realtors will see you be a more serious homebuyer. Having a preapproval means that the lender has assessed your credit background and clearly determined how much you can afford. As a more powerful homebuyer, you will have greater bargaining power. 

ii. Save Time

When you are pre-approved, you will be saving valuable time. You will already know the price range that you can afford. This means your home search will be highly targeted. Instead of focusing on how much a house costs, you will be spending more time assessing the features of a house that sits within your budget.

iii. Eliminate Surprises

Being pre-approved also means that you will not be surprised at the time of making an offer. Some of these surprises include:

• Having a low credit score
• A lesser debt-to-income ratio

When you find a house within your budget, you already are in a good position to make the offer. 

Among other benefits, a pre-approval will also help you have a shorter closing period. It will speed up the process because most of your financial information is already with your lender.

Get Pre-Approved as Early as Possible

There will still be other steps such as the appraisal process that will take time. Still, it is more reasonable to shop around for a house with a pre-approval than without it. It will provide you with a clear edge and you will be well-positioned to make a decision when you find the perfect property. 

It is recommended to get pre-approved a year before you want to purchase a house. In fact, it is never too early to do it. Besides the above-mentioned benefits, it will help address mistakes in the application by giving you extra time. It is important to know that a third of mortgage applications have errors and these errors can have an impact on your ability to purchase a house and the interest rate.

If you need more information about getting pre-approval, feel free to contact Belmares Properties at (210) 877-0815 or write to us at mary@belmaresproperties.com