Purchase Pre-Qualification Letter Basics

Establishing a “Baseline” and getting a mortgage pre-qualification letter is an essential first step in the home buying process. When you finally find the right home, you want to already know what you qualify for and where you want your payment to be so that you can move forward and make an offer with confidence, and not get caught up in a bidding war that you may regret.

When we first get started, your baseline will be established through a thorough financial analysis. I won’t just go over your credit, current expenses and payment comfort, but also your long term goals and how they will relate to your property purchase. From there I’ll recommend any credit or debt moves that will save you money and tailor some options customized to your individual needs. Then you can start home shopping! If you need help in finding a Realtor in your area, please let me know and I will offer some referrals.

Also, keep in mind that many people that I meet or who are referred to me may not qualify right away. But by establishing this baseline, it allows us to put together a plan of action to follow so that in the months ahead homeownership will become a reality.

Once a Pre-Qualification Letter is issued, this is a written communication for your Realtor and the Seller that you are qualified for a certain purchase price. A new pre-qualification letter is usually tailored for each offer made. Please note that some sellers, particularly banks with bank owned properties, require that you be approved by a major bank prior to making an offer. This is something that I can do! Again, one of the advantages of being a direct lender and a broker is that I can send loans to banks where it makes the most sense for the client. So, I can get a bank issued pre-approval lender, but still have the flexibility of sending the loan elsewhere once the offer is accepted if it makes sense to do so.