How to Get Preapproved for a Mortgage
Get Pre Approved BEFORE you search for a home. What exactly is a Pre Approval and how do you get one?
A Pre Approval is different than a prequalification. A prequalification is essentially just a conversation. A Pre Approval goes further to verify your qualifications. To obtain a Pre Approval from Montezuma Mortgage we must pull your credit and gather income documents to accurately calculate your debt to income ratio. We’re also going to verify your identity and that you have acceptable funds to close.
If you are just casually looking, a prequalification may be all that you want to do right now to avoid a hard pull on your credit. However, if you have serious plans to make an offer, then going through the additional steps to get a Pre Approval letter BEFORE you start shopping will be worthwhile. If you’ve already started shopping without a Pre Approval give us a call and we can fix that quickly so you can keep your search on target.
Getting Started
To get a Pre Approval, start by finding a reputable lender that you want to work with to purchase your home. This can be a bank, credit union, other lender, or the best option a mortgage broker like us. Ask friends, coworkers, neighbors, and family for recommendations. Go to our Google Reviews. Make sure you find someone who will thoroughly lay out your options in an easy to digest format and if they don’t, call us and see how easy we can make it with our industry leading presentation software. Once you have someone that you want to work with, ask them what they need from you to provide a Pre Approval. Expect to give them the following information:
- A complete application with employment and residential history
- Authorization to pull your credit
- Supporting financial documents, such as pay stubs, W-2s, Tax Returns, Bank Statements, Photo ID, and other relevant documents related to income, assets and credit.
Once you have a Pre Approval letter your Realtor or real estate agent can show you homes that meet your criteria within that budget. Having a Pre Approval letter also can ensure that the homes you consider will meet the guidelines for your selected loan options. It also shows sellers that you are ready to move forward with the purchase when you submit an offer. Including your Pre Approval letter with your offer may even sway the seller in your favor if they have multiple comparable offers or are in a bidding war.
