Many homebuyers looking at homes in Warner Robins say they are waiting to find the right home before getting pre-approved with a lender, and I let them know that is a bad idea. Everyone should get pre-approved before starting to look for a home, because it helps narrow down their search into homes they can afford, helps their negotiating ability, and helps them find the most home for their money.
A good faith estimate from a lender can make a big difference in negotiating an offer because it helps in writing that offer. If you know how much the closing costs and prepaid items will be, then you can ask the seller to help pay for these items. Not being pre-approved hurts the buyers negotiating ability by not having all the information such as loan type, closing costs, pre-paids, and interest rate, when the offer is written. Also giving the seller a copy of the pre-approval letter with the offer helps give the offer more credibility. Waiting to find the right home and then getting pre-approved slows down the offer process and hurts the chances of getting that home, because if someone else submits an offer on the same home with a approval letter, then they have a better chance of having their offer accepted.
Last but not least, waiting to get financing until after finding the right home decreases the amount of time the homebuyer has to shop around for the best lender/financing available. Homebuyers should get pre-approved first, then look for a home, shop around with different lenders while looking at homes, find the right home, and then decide on a lender within 1 or 2 days of writing an offer on a home.
Comments (1)Subscribe to CommentsComment