WHY DO THEY KEEP BOTHERING ME?
When you are ready to buy a home, you will go through the process of getting pre-qualified for a home loan. You may obtain your pre-qualification from the bank or credit union that you have been using all of your adult life, or you may get pre-qualified by a completely new financial institution. Regardless of who you choose, here is what you have to keep in mind.
A pre-qualification is strictly that. The financial institution is going to look at your credit-worthiness, your income, your assets and some other information that you provide on the spot. Once they have your basic information they will decide whether or not they are willing to give you a loan. Their decision will allow you to move on to the next step, or tell you what needs to happen before you can (credit repair, income generation, etc.).
After getting pre-qualified, many buyers think they are done with the lender, however, this is just the beginning. The lender is the one who will decide whether or not they are going to give you a hundred or even hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy your future home. They will need to vet you, your co-buyers, and your credentials thoroughly and frequently throughout the process to give you your final loan approval. This approval usually comes just hours or a few days before closing. This all means that you will devote a great amount of time, effort and energy to help them during this long approval process.
They will need copies of all of your pay stubs throughout the process, they should request your previous one or two years of tax returns to verify your income, you should also expect them to contact you a few times for other documentation. If you have selected a Go Team Realty Agent to walk you through the home buying process, we will also work with them to help you figure out how much home you can afford. They will provide pre-approval letters that have to accompany any offers that we make on houses you are interested in.
We always suggest to our clients that if they haven’t already found a lender to get pre-approved with, to make sure they are comfortable with the lender they choose and try to find lenders with the ability to solve problems. Sometimes problems arise throughout the process, so it helps to find a lender that wants the best for you. They will be willing to go the extra mile. You would be surprised how many times we have had to have a lender work past their normal hours to close a deal, keep us in the loop with issues in underwriting or completely change directions mid-process. So be sure to pick a lender you are comfortable with and that you know you can count on. They can help make or break your deal.
Another word of advice, ask your agent if he or she recommends a certain lender for your situation. Many times agents have spent years developing relationships with the lenders they know they can trust when faced with adversity. You definitely want as many allies on your side as possible.