Jim Curry - Home Buyers Guide V2 Book

this happens, the new homeowner might have a great home, but a bad mortgage deal. You de fin itely want to avoid this happening to you. WHY GET PRE-APPROVED What’s the big deal about getting pre-approved for a mortgage in the fir st place? What’s wrong with going through the home- search and home-buying process fir st, and then getting the loan later? Th ere is plenty wrong with waiting until the end for loan approval, and plenty of advantages in getting pre-approved for a mortgage fir st, before you get too far into the home-search and home-buying process. In fact, one of the most common mistakes made by buyers, especially if they’re fir st-timers, is not getting pre-approved for a home loan, as we discussed in Chapter 6. For example, many sellers and listing agents won’t want to work with you or even consider your o ff er if they fin d out you don’t have mortgage loan pre-approval and you’re promising that you can pay a certain amount when you can’t prove you can keep that promise. You will most certainly lose out on getting that home you had in mind. As I wrote in Chapter 6, “Your own assumption about what you can a ff ord — both the down payment and the monthly mortgage payments, among other costs — can contrast sign ifi cantly with what the bank is willing to lend you.” Getting pre-approved for a loan is also a fantastic method for gaining the upper hand in multiple-o ff er situations. A big part of presenting a strong o ff er is being pre-approved for a loan beforehand. If you and your agent come to the negotiating table con fi dent, presenting a strong o ff er with a mortgage pre-approval letter in hand, you’ll already stand out from the other buyers interested in the same home.

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