I often get calls from potential buyers that want to see a property that is for sale. Many times, they get a bit testy with me when I ask them if they are pre-qualified for a home loan. Although I can appreciate why a potential buyer may feel this way, there are very good reasons why a buyer should talk to a lender prior to going out to look for a home.
First of all, in a market like the one that we are in right now, many listing agents are asking Realtors to only bring pre-qualified buyers into their listings. The reason for this is quite sound. If a Seller receives an offer on their property, they want to be reasonably sure that if they take the property off the market, the Buyer that they are selling to will in fact be able to obtain a home loan. That doesn’t mean that things can’t come up at the 11th hour that can de-rail the loan. But when you are pre-qualified, the Sellers have a pretty good layer of comfort that the Buyer will be able to move forward.
This topic wouldn’t be fully covered if I didn’t bring up the next good reason. Realtors like myself work on straight commission, and frankly, we do not want to spend a large amount of time showing properties to someone that cannot buy a property. There is nothing worse than spending an entire weekend with a Buyer only to find out that they simply cannot qualify for a home loan. What makes it even worse is knowing you could have spent that time with Buyers that actually COULD have bought something! Just being honest here!
So, next time a Realtor asks you whether you are pre-qualified for a loan, cut him or her some slack and just answer the question. It’s okay if you haven’t been pre-qualified, we can help you get that done! We can also help you find the appropriate people to put your credit back together again to be able to qualify for a loan if need be.
Happy House Hunting!
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