Mortgage Pre-Approval
Mortgage Pre-Approval is a critical step on the path to buy a home. You will work with a lender to discover how much you're capable of borrowing to make your purchase.
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What is mortgage pre-approval?
When you’re ready to buy a home, mortgage pre-approval is one of the most important parts of the process. Your mortgage pre-approval is going to tell you how much you’re able to borrow for your new purchase. Power Mortgage LLC works hard to ensure borrowers get the best offers based on their specific financial situation.
Are you prepared?
mortgage pre-approval, a financial well-checkMortgage pre-approval requires taking a deep dive into your financial situation. This can involve gathering documents, proving employment and digging through financial history. Power Mortgage LLC is dedicated to providing borrowers with the information needed to ensure an easy process, so you can enjoy this important time in your life. Here are some items required heading into pre-approval.
Proof of income
Normally, this is submitted in the form of W2 documents. If you're a business owner or an independent contractor, it can take a bit more documentation.
Proof of funds
Whether you're putting down 3.5% or 20%, you'll need to prove you have the funds available to make that down payment and cover closing costs.
A good credit score
You'll want to make sure you're taking steps to improve or keep your credit score high. A better credit score means lower rates.
Proof of employment
Lenders want to be sure you've got stable and consistent employment. Self-employed borrowers should expect this process to be much more involved.
Additional documents
This depends on your financial situation. For example, if you pay child support or alimony, additional documentation will be required to secure your pre-approval.
You set the pace
Power Mortgage LLC has a team of experienced professionals and the pre-approval process goes as fast as you can provide us with what we need to move forward.
Curious about your potential mortgage?
Use our mortgage calculator to get an idea of what your mortgage payments may end up looking like. Make sure you’re aware of the current average mortgage rates when trying estimate your expected monthly mortgage payment and mortgage loan details.
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Pre-approval vs Pre-Qualification
It's not uncommon for pre-approval and pre-qualification to get mixed up or used interchangeably. However, while they may sound similar, pre-approval and pre-qualification are quite different. We'll break down the different characteristics of each and help you to understand what both mean, and which of the two is going to be best for your situation.
Pre-approval is a more rigorous process and is more valuable when it comes to setting out to purchase a home. In the pre-approval process your lender will thoroughly analyze your finances in order to discover the best financial situation for you on your path to secure a mortgage and purchase your home.
One of the biggest differences between pre-approval and pre-qualification is pre-approval will require a hard-inquiry, to pull your credit report and verify your financial information.
After the pre-approval process is complete, lenders will issue a pre-approval letter and you use this to potentially show to sellers when preparing to make an offer. Pre-approvals are normally issued within a window time. This can change by-lender but is generally between 60-90 days.
As we’ve discussed, different financial situations can require different things during the pre-approval process. If you’re self-employed, it’s best to gather up as much information and documentation as possible before heading into pre-approval.
Regardless of your employment situation, If you don’t have a printer or a scanner, you may want to get one. If that’s not an option, be sure how close your nearest FedEx/Kinkos or UPS store is. There are also apps for mobile devices that can make scanning documents easy, like this one.
Pre-qualification isn’t as thorough as pre-approval. It’s important to understand that once you are pre-approved, it’s a bit of a “clock’s ticking” situation. With a pre-approval, there is a range of 60-90 days (depending on the lender) in which the pre-approval is valid, so once you’re pre-approved you want to move somewhat quickly.
With a pre-qualification, it’s not as formal. Granted, you won’t be able to make an offer on a house with a pre-qualification but it still has plenty of value to borrowers during the process.
Pre-qualification is more of an estimate. For pre-qualification you will sit with your mortgage lender and outline your financial situation. Income, employment, assets, and any other relevant information that plays a role in the mortgage process.
Once the lender has enough of the information required, they will give you a range for what you can expect to afford when you set out to buy a home.
Pre-qualification is an important early step in the process, but it’s not going to assist borrowers ready to make an offer the way a pre-approval will. Your pre-qualification will shape what houses you will look at while you work with your realtor to find the right home.
Have questions about mortgage pre-approval?
We've put together some answers to commonly asked questions about mortgage pre-approval.1 How does my credit score affect pre-approval?
Your credit score factors into your mortgage pre-approval the same way it does with many other financial approval processes. The better your credit score, the more likely you are to receive the lower end of the rate available from your lender.
A mortgage pre-approval may or may not have an affect on your credit score, all depending on the lender. Some lenders make "soft pulls" against your credit, and these pulls check your credit profile without impacting your credit score. Other lenders make "hard pulls" and those will show up on your credit report as an inquiry. Ask your lender which type of pull will be made against your credit before beginning the pre-approval process.
2 How long does the pre-approval process take?
The pre-approval process can take as little as one business day and can last as long as weeks. Different financial profiles and financial situations can lead to different times required for pre-approval.
If you have a relatively straightforward financial situation. For instance, if you've worked at the same place for a long time, and have your documentation in order, a majority of borrowers in this category will get their pre-approval results within the week time-frame.
However, if you are self employed, or if you need to undergo an income audit or have other factors to consider, like child support, liens, etc. the process can take even longer.
3 Can I purchase a home without getting pre-approval?
Yes, technically, you can put an offer on a home without first being pre-approved by a mortgage lender. However, in most cases it will be in your best interest to be pre-approved with a mortgage lender before putting in an offer on a home.
A mortgage pre-approval tells the seller that the mortgage lender has given a review of your credit profile and financial information and has decided you're approved for a mortgage, and how much you're approved for.
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We love helping clients.Provide us with some basic information and a message and we'll get back to you as soon as we're able. Looking for a mortgage broker? Have questions about buying a home? You've come to the right place.