Go Green! Shop for a pre-qual before your tour

Many first time buyers dont realize the importance of obtaining a mortgage pre-qualification from a reputable broker or bank. It isn’t that time consuming, and it can actually save you a lot of time and aggravation. Especially for busy brides, grooms & newlyweds, you have a lot of planning and preparing to do, thank you notes to write and work to catch up on. You likely don’t have a lot of time to spend days and days driving around looking at homes which may not even be in your range.

Here in Westchester, NY the inventory is always changing and prices vary so much from town to town. For example, a starter home for sale in Armonk, NY is in the $600,000 range, vs. a co-op for sale in Hartsdale which start in the low 200,000 range.

I recently had a client who wanted to go shopping for a home “incase” something they wanted was on the market. They weren’t ready to pull the trigger for a year or so, and had no mortgage pre-qual. I told them I would be happy to send them listings to browse and advised them to start driving neighborhoods to get a feel for where they might like to live, however much of even that effort is irrelevant (unless you like driving around at $4+/gallon) if you can’t qualify for the prices in that neighborhood. I love meeting and touring with clients, however there is a way to do it Green, and there is a way to be wasteful. Gas, time, money, paper (for print outs), sellers/home owners (time invested in showing/cleaning/presenting the home). There are a lot of resources that go into the buying and selling process.

So do your environment and pocket a favor and GO GREEN by shopping for a pre-qual before you look! It makes for an all around more pleasant experience for all involved. Then your agent can e-mail you listings, neighborhood info and so on that is better suited toward your specific price range and preferences.

There are many online loan and mortgage calculators, and a general rule of thumb is that your mortgage payment shouldn’t exceed 1/3 of your net monthly income. However, with the sophisticated and complex mortgages available, it is really worth your while to get a more specific idea of what program and loan amount you qualify for up front. 

By the way: Being from the mortgage industry, we know that even a mortgage pre-qual from a month or two ago can be irrelevant or perhaps that program or bank has even disappeared! Remember to keep your pre-quals current and ask your mortgage professional to drop a line or email when things pertaining to your loan and program change. 

Tip: Looking to save some gas and time? Ask your agent to take you along when they preview homes in markets that interest you. This way they can help give you an idea of the area and inventory while you go along for the ride.

Dont forget: You can do quite a bit of your own research on neighborhoods and schools online. Buyers should be involved in one of the largest purchases of their lives!

Read more at Our Newlywed Real Estate site & blog!