Pre Mortgage Approval – How Will It Help You?
Posted on | July 15, 2009 | 1 Comment
One of the most important steps for a first time home buyer is to get a pre mortgage approval. By getting a pre mortgage approval you understand what type of budget you are under when it comes to getting your dream home. You will also find that if you have a strong credit history and a stable income, mortgage lenders will be much happier and willing to work around your needs. Lenders will immediately know if you can successful fulfill your responsibilities of your home loan by your pre mortgage approval. While it is not an exact science, it is a pretty good predictor of the future of your home loan payments.
To find out exactly how much money your mortgage can be lenders will look at several factors. These factors include employment status, personal assets, credit scores and any late payments you may have had over the last few years. Once again this is not an exact science, but it is a method that has proven to work, for the most part. Something I would recommend all first time home owners to do is to check their credit score before getting a pre mortgage approval. There may be some mistakes on your credit score that could drop the score over 100 points. It is better to find out about these and try to resolve them rather than the lender finding out.
Overall, you will not get to determine how much of a mortgage you will get. What you can do is to make smart financial decisions and keep your credit history clean. This will enable you to get a mortgage more to your liking. If you have a credit score over 750, a stable source of income and some assets to your name, it is likely you will get a reasonable sized mortgage at a low rate to buy the home of your dreams.
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One Response to “Pre Mortgage Approval – How Will It Help You?”
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July 16th, 2009 @ 5:07 am
Please be careful when looking at your pre-approval. Banks still seem more than happy to pre-quality borrowers for way more than they can reasonably afford. Or at least they assume that you are ok with eating Ramen Noodles while you live in your big new house.
I was pre-approved recently for about 35% more than I could reasonably afford and still have any sort of lifestyle. (And I’m pretty frugal) I knew that my budget wouldn’t allow me to get anywhere near what they offered but was very tempted to believe what their little letter told me.
So while it is a great idea to get a pre-approval, please work out your own budget and know your limits. Don’t be dazzled by the numbers they show you. And don’t assume that any ‘estimated mortgage payment’ is the bottom line. I will be paying about 25% more than my (principal and interest) mortgage payment each month for insurance, hoa, pmi, tax escrow, and more words that I only vaguely understand. That may not be normal but be cautious.
Sorry for the rant. Thanks for the awesome blog! I’ve been following for a couple months since I found you at the start of my home buying research and I hope to continue following your stories even after I close next month!