When Should I get Pre-approved for a Mortgage?

When should I get pre-approved for a mortgage?

When you’re starting to take the journey of home-buying seriously, you’ll probably start thinking about budgeting for a mortgage. It’s a lot to learn and a lot of information to balance. One of the benefits of having a realtor by your side is that I can help you understand what these terms from your lender are, as well as when to consider them. I can even help you find a trusted lended. 

What is pre-approval?

Being pre-approved for a mortgage means that you’ve approached a lender to essentially verify how much house you can afford. They’ll verify using factors like your credit score, income, assets, and debts. If you’re buying as a couple, this will combine both of your credit histories and assets, for better or for worse. 

Why does getting pre-approved matter?

It’s important to get pre-approved so you can be prepared to make an offer. You want to be ready when you find your dream home! To be prepared, you want to be as realistic and accurate as you can when you’re serious about purchasing a home.

At first, you might use a helpful online mortgage calculator early in your home buying journey. Let’s call this the Dream Stage. You scroll though Zillow. You Google online mortgage calculators. The online mortgage calculator is there to help you ball park the types of homes you can dream about while you’re sitting on the couch scrolling through our listings. However- since they don’t usually ask for your income, debt history, and entire credit report, this is not the tool to rely on when you’re really ready to make the move to buy. Only pre-approval can place you within your actual home-buying budget. 

When should you get pre-approved?

Typically, you want to get pre-approved as close to your contract as you can before the contract is in your hand. 

The reason the timing is important is because every time you seek pre-approval, it will be recorded on your credit score. So if you get pre-approved too early, you may unwittingly cause damage to your credit score. On the other hand, if you get pre-approved too late, you may miss out on opportunities in a competitive market. 

For a first time home buyer (or even for those who have done it before), this might feel tricky to get the timing right. 

That’s okay! That’s what your trusted realtor is for. Since I have experience in supporting buyers with their pre-approvals, you can lean on me to help you. That’s one of the things your realtor is here for.

Once I’m pre-approved, how long does it last?

How long a pre-approval lasts will vary by lender. It’s important to shop around! Typically, they last between 30 and 90 days. These approvals are temporary because they take changing circumstances into account. A lot can happen over the course of a few months, right? Maybe you got promoted or paid off a small debt. These life changes will impact your credit score, which will impact your pre-approval. Once again, as your realtor, I can help you along in your buying journey to smooth out the steps between the dream stage, the pre-approval stage, and making offers. 

If you have questions about pre-approval, or want to inquire about finding your dream home, please reach out! Team Austin is here to help with your Rochester Real Estate Goals.