If you are wanting to enter into the housing market, you should consider getting a pre-approval. It will allow you to know your purchasing power and any limitations that you may have. Once you have it, you can look at homes that fall within your criteria. Just as important as sq. footage, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, etc., it allows you to know your financial criteria. A strong pre-approval letter from a reputable broker or lender, helps the seller take your offer seriously and you stay competitive in a seller’s market.

Getting out there to look at real estate is exciting but writing an offer on a house, only to find out that you never really did qualify for it, is disheartening. In that time-frame, you may have paid for inspections and done a lot of leg work that is required to start the due diligence process. Both money and time wasted if the house was out of reach right from the beginning. The difference between a pre-approval and a pre-qualification, is verification.  A pre-qualification gives you the basic information to help with your options but no credit check is done. It is an evaluation only. A pre-approval provides you with a solid dollar amount and specific details on the mortgage. Just as important as that, it can be the golden ticket to having your offer accepted.

Denise would be happy to provide you with a list of great colleagues that she works with so you can get started today.