It’s going down (for real). You’re looking to buy a home and you can’t wait for that magical moment that happens in the home buying process. You know exactly what I’m talking about. Meeting with a loan officer. There’s something pretty sweet about sitting down in your blue jeans across from a person in a nice suit and saying, “Here. Here are my pay stubs and bank statements.”
Okay, so getting pre-approved for a home loan might not be the most exciting thing in the world, but it is well worth the small investment of your time to get the pre-approval letter from a lender.
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Here’s V reasons why you need to get pre approved.
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1. Your agent will love you. When people call me and say, “Glen, my husband and I are pre-approved for $(C)(C)(C), can you show us a few houses around the Tri Cities area,” I do a happy dance. Then I go around my office and brag about how great the buyers I work with are.
2. It will save you time. The reality is you might have an idea of house that costs more than your lender is willing to lend you. You might realize that you can afford something a little higher that what you expected. Either way, you don’t want to waste time looking at houses that do not fit within your ideal purchase price range.
3. The seller’s agent will love you. Putting an offer on a house gets sellers and sellers’ agents really happy. You are likely to make them some money. Send an offer to a seller with a pre-approval letter makes them super-duper extra happy. You are very likely, almost positively going to make them money.
4. You will already know a loan officer when you need to actually apply for the loan on the purchase of your future home. I have nothing witty or funny to say about that. It’s just a good thing to have relationship started.
5. You’ll have an idea of the true cost of purchasing your home. Buying a home involves a little more than coming up with a down payment and calculating your monthly payments with an online mortgage calculator. Between origination fees, escrow, title insurance, and all the fun closing costs, you’ll need to know what home ownership will truly cost. Don’t let all these fees scare you though. That’s why that cool loan officer you know (see number 4) is there. He or she can get you set up with the type of loan you will need to get into your future home on the budget that works best for you.
If you’re looking for a lender to get the Pre-approval process started, I’ll give you a list of a few here in the Tri Cities that I work closely with.
Tell any of them that Glen Gosch sent you to them (I don’t get kickbacks or anything, they just like to know where you’re coming from).
Guild Mortgage, David Austin daustin@guildmortgage.net
Homestreet Bank, Dago Velasquez dago.velaquez@homestreet.com
Umpqua Bank, Heather Lee heatherlee@umpquabank.com
Of course there are others. Just wanted to give you the names of a few so you can get on your way to finding your home in Tri Cities, WA with your favorite real estate agent (Glen Gosch).