The first thing you should do before you begin shoppingfor a home is find out how much of a mortgage you qualify for. There arevarious tools on the Internet that can calculate this for you, but your bestbet is to get a formal pre-approval from a mortgage specialist. This involvesproviding proof of income and a credit check. If there’s a problem with yourcredit, now is the time to sort it out.
By getting yourself pre-approved, you’ll know exactly how much you’re able tospend. There’s nothing worse than realizing the homes you’ve been looking atare out of your price range. You may convince yourself that you can afford ahome with a double car garage and a family room only to learn later on thatthis isn’t the case. Readjusting to homes that are less expensive is painfuland takes all of the fun out of the home buying process.
Most lenders will lock in the current interest rate for a certain time periodso that you’ll be protected should rates increase. If the rates decrease,you’re automatically re-locked at the lower rate. On a $150,000 mortgage,you’ll pay $872 per month at 5%. If rates jump to 6%, then your monthly paymentwill also jump to $959. That’s a difference of $87 per month or $5,220 over afive year term!
When it’s time to put an offer in on the perfect home, a pre-approval will makeyour offer more attractive to the seller as you can present a cash offerinstead of making it conditional on financing. This can sometimes knockthousands off the purchase price or, in the case of multiple offers, willbetter ensure that your offer is the one that’s accepted. If you still need tomake the offer conditional due to a bank appraisal (as is often the case withlower down payments), you can attach the pre-approval to the offer.
A pre-approval can save you thousands of dollars, hours of time and can evenprevent you from losing your dream home. It’s easy, there’s no obligation and,in most cases, it’s free. If you have any questions or if you’d like me torefer you to a mortgage specialist, just let me know.
By getting yourself pre-approved, you’ll know exactly how much you’re able tospend. There’s nothing worse than realizing the homes you’ve been looking atare out of your price range. You may convince yourself that you can afford ahome with a double car garage and a family room only to learn later on thatthis isn’t the case. Readjusting to homes that are less expensive is painfuland takes all of the fun out of the home buying process.
Most lenders will lock in the current interest rate for a certain time periodso that you’ll be protected should rates increase. If the rates decrease,you’re automatically re-locked at the lower rate. On a $150,000 mortgage,you’ll pay $872 per month at 5%. If rates jump to 6%, then your monthly paymentwill also jump to $959. That’s a difference of $87 per month or $5,220 over afive year term!
When it’s time to put an offer in on the perfect home, a pre-approval will makeyour offer more attractive to the seller as you can present a cash offerinstead of making it conditional on financing. This can sometimes knockthousands off the purchase price or, in the case of multiple offers, willbetter ensure that your offer is the one that’s accepted. If you still need tomake the offer conditional due to a bank appraisal (as is often the case withlower down payments), you can attach the pre-approval to the offer.
A pre-approval can save you thousands of dollars, hours of time and can evenprevent you from losing your dream home. It’s easy, there’s no obligation and,in most cases, it’s free. If you have any questions or if you’d like me torefer you to a mortgage specialist, just let me know.
I pull out all the stops to sell your home.
Lonnie Snyder
REALTOR ®
Keller Williams Realty Southeast Sound
Phone: 206-406-2710
Lonnie Snyder is a full time real estateagent and REALTOR® with Keller Williams Realty specializing in Residential RealEstate for buyers and sellers in Washington's Kent, Renton, Newcastle and SouthBellevue.
Lonnie Snyder
REALTOR ®
Keller Williams Realty Southeast Sound
Phone: 206-406-2710
Lonnie Snyder is a full time real estateagent and REALTOR® with Keller Williams Realty specializing in Residential RealEstate for buyers and sellers in Washington's Kent, Renton, Newcastle and SouthBellevue.
