Why Get Pre-Approved for a Loan?
1. Pre-approval is necessary to make an offer on a property. It is a dry run of the loan application process. The mortgage lender will use details you provide about your credit, income, assets and debts to arrive at an estimate of how much mortgage you can afford. The whole process may take only minutes or a few hours at most, and is free.
2. While a "pre-approval" is non-binding to the lender (because the information you provide has not been verified through verification of employment, home address of subject property, appraised value of subject property, etc). It does serve as a good indication to potential sellers of your general creditworthiness. (P.S. a good lender will verify your financial documents upfront and run your file for DU (Desktop Underwriter) or LP (Loan Prospector) approval so you have no surprises during the process of buying - so please insist they provide you with either a DU or LP approval upfront and require them to verify your information and please provide them all the documents they request upfront.)
Lender will request the following items upfront from you:
- Copies of Driver’s Licenses
- Copies of Social Security Cards
- Mortgage Statement/Coupons (for all real estate owned or other loans)
- List of all real estate owned, even if free and clear
- Copies of all your credit card statements, car loans &/or other loans with balance due & minimum monthly payment for each
- Most Recent Bank Statements Checking, Savings or Brokerage accounts for last two months
- Pay Stubs last 30 days with Employers contact information
- Latest Property Tax Bill for all real estate owned
- Retirement/Investment Account Statements last statement available
- Tax Returns (1040) past 2 or 3 years
- W-2 Forms (or 1099's) for past 2 or 3 years
- Profit and Loss Statements if self employed
- Records of rent payments and landlord/property manager contact information
- Copies of Divorce, Bankruptcy &/or Foreclosure paperwork
If you cannot find all of the above just take what you have to lender......
3. These days most sellers will NOT accept an offer without at least a pre-approval letter, so if you are serious about buying this is the first step towards getting you in your new home. This makes puts your Offer in a much stronger position if you have DU or LP approval to provide to the Sellers with your offer!
4. Call today to get approved so you know what your monthly payment & cash to close will be.
5. Let us help you walk you through this process and make it easy.....
6. See our Resource page for recommended Lenders with low interest rates and low costs to you whether you are a first time buyer, repeat buyer, VA loan (by the way one of the best loans out there for our well deserved Veteran's - Thank You For Your Service!), investment properties, jumbo loans, conventional loans, fha loans, USDA loans (available in smaller cities, Calhfa loan, Platinum loan & so many more available....
Call Lynne at 559.779.3451 to discuss your personal options to guide you to the best lender for your needs!