Why should I get pre-approved? 
It is extremely important to get pre-approved for your mortgage before you shop for a home. First, it tells the seller that you are a serious and qualified home buyer, and that they should take you and any offer you may decide to make seriously. Secondly, it allows you to properly determine what your price range should be, based both on what you can qualify for, and what monthly mortgage payment you are comfortable with.
What is the difference between a pre-qualification and a pre-approval?
A pre-qualification is just based on preliminary information and is generally informal in nature. It is not as detailed or accurate as a pre-approval. A pre-approval includes an actual approval from our automated underwriting system, and therefore is extremely accurate and dependable. Realtors and home sellers will take a pre-approval much more seriously than a pre-qualification. It is for this reason that our loan officers prefer not to offer pre-qualifications, instead opting for a full pre-approval.
How long is a pre-approval good for?
Our pre-approvals expire after 90 days. However, as long as nothing has changed in your credit or financial pictures, it is extremely easy to renew and generate a new pre-approval. It is extremely important that you do not do anything relating to your employment, income, assets or credit during the pre-approval period as that may jeopardize your approval. It is always best to speak with your loan officer if you have any questions as to what you should and should not do so that your pre-approval remains valid.
Are all pre-approvals the same?
No. Since Residential Home Funding is a direct lender, and not a broker, we are the decision maker. We are not reliant on another company to approve the loan for you. This is not the case with a broker. Since a broker does not make the loan, they cannot approve the loan. Therefore a pre-approval letter from a broker is not the same as one from a direct lender, like Residential Home Funding.
What do I need to do to become pre-approved?
Getting pre-approved is a fairly straightforward process. One of our loan officers will need to get some information from you relating to your employment, income, assets, etc. We will use this information to to determine how much you can afford and to obtain a preliminary approval using our automated underwriting system. Once you know what you can qualify for, you can decide how much you want your pre-approval to be for and the loan officer will send the pre-approval letter to you.
1. How much you can afford.
2. How quickly we can close your loan.
3. How we will help you buy your dream home.
