When you are serious about buying a house- and the key word here is serious- you have got to get to a lender and get pre-approved for a home loan. So if we go out to look at houses we have no idea what you can afford- so how do we know what price range we should be looking in--we don't!
It usually takes less than 15 minutes and is a free service your bank offers. When people put me off as to why they haven't been to the bank they fall to the bottom of my customer list. I have a list of pre-approved people who are ready, willing and able to buy so why would I waste time and resources with you until you take the first step??
When I was a new agent I would run all over town with people who hadn't been to the bank. We would find their dream home and present a decent offer. Now what? When the offer is presented to the Seller it is accompanied by the statement "they haven't been to the bank" we just lost all negotiating power. Why would a seller negotiate the best price with someone who they have no idea if they can even get a loan. (a savvy Seller realizes this and so should you)
The other scenario is there are multiple offers coming in- the non-approved ones fall to the bottom of the stack and the buyer usually loses the property to someone who took the time to get the basic essential of house buying taken care of.
I work in this industry and I don't know how much of a house I can afford until I go to the bank. (I usually try to do this every 6 months- things change- markets change) In our current market loans are becoming more difficult to obtain than before.
As a realtor when a cold call comes in and someone wants to start house hunting, I always ask the "have you been to the bank" question. If their response is "money is not a problem" you better believe it IS a serious problem. A couple of weeks ago this scenario happened to me- it was a slow day at the office so I went ahead and showed the guy the property. The guy went on about how he had grant money and this would be an easy deal. (grant money?? I want some of that!!) Before I would write up the offer I convinced him to go talk to the bank so we would have a solid offer. A few hours later the banker called me and let me know that he had defaulted on his student loans. Goodbye grant money (whatever that was) and goodbye to the chance of buying a home. Student loan default will hurt you worse than anything- the government cracks down on you getting any more money until it is taken care of.
Buying a house is not a spur of the moment decision- it is a thought out process that sometimes can take months to act upon.
Hey- Ive made it even easier, just fill out the online form and have it taken care of electronically
Click here for a free pre-approval form
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