House Hunting Before Preapproval?

Don’t be tempted to put the cart before the horse, before you find your dream home it’s important to be preapproved for a mortgage. Getting prequalified for a mortgage will give you an estimate of how much you can borrow. If you’re serious about buying a home, a preapproval is an important step to take and more in-depth than the prequalification. Before spending time looking online or visiting open houses to find the “perfect” house, having a preapproval will help you understand your price range and act quickly when you find the right home.

Having a preapproval will benefit you, letting real estate agents and sellers know that you’re serious and can realistically buy a home. Sellers are more willing to accept an offer from someone who’s preapproved compared to a buyer who’s financing might fall through. A preapproval can get the home-buying process moving quickly to benefit the buyer and the seller.

Another big benefit of the preapproval process is finding out if you need to do more work on your finances. You may need to pay down debt or fix any errors on your credit report to increase the amount of home you can afford. Trying to take care of these after finding a home will delay process and you could miss out on your dream home.