You need to get a mortgage approval before you shop

Russ, truer words were never spoken. It is a huge waste of time and it is also very upsetting for all involved, especially the person who finds out they cannot buy a home after all.

If a problem is solved, time can sort it out and they can begin the journey to find a new home when all is repaired, sorted and resolved.

Hi Russ. I agree with you 100%! But what is sad is there are agents that will jump at taking out someone without a preapproval and then you've lost that person! I've had that happen several times with me - talk to someone over a period of a month discussing homes online and finally they are ready to get preapproved so I can show them homes and then I hear "We decided to go with another agent because they are willing to show us homes without getting preapproved first." It happens a lot actually. There are agents out there hungry for work and they are willing to take the risk.

Could not agree more!  It is a tricky navigation to put off showing houses to a client who does not have pre-approval but I would rather spend the time doing something productive.  If I could only have back all the hours I used to spend showing hopeful buyers their dream homes and then watching the disappointment envelope them when the bank said no.  I spend time with non approved buyers explaining to them what they will need to do to raise their credit scores and often direct them to a local lender who will actually give them a program to get them back on track.  It seems as if the mantra for most banks right now is "Just Say No!"

Many buyers go shopping for a house before they are approved for a mortgage. I will meet a client to show them one house that they called in to meet them for the first time. This allows me to ask questions-Are you working with a mortgage professional? If they say no, they I refer them to a loan officer that I repsect. It is all about educating the consumer. Here to serve.

It is a amazing that you still come across people that dont want to get an approval before they look. They are the ones that know they cant get approved, but then whey look anyways.

SO TRUE! Especially in this environment, as we know, most lenders are more difficult, particularly when purchasing a property in as-is condition.

I could not agree more!!!  When I first started I would take anybody with a pulse to a showing, then after getting burned I stopped doing it.  I have been yelled at by "clients" that wanted to find the house first, but that's the way we do it now.  Good blog post!

Good reminder.  In the business almost two years now, I was slow to learn the importance and sense of this.  Margaret C.