Why Getting Pre-Approved for a Mortgage is Important

Now that you’ve decided the time is right to buy a new home, you may be wondering how to take the first step. Before you begin touring open houses and meeting with Realtors®, a good place to begin is to apply for a mortgage pre-approval from your lender.

Why is a mortgage pre-approval from your lender important?

When you find a home you love and are ready to make an offer, a pre-approval letter from your lender can make you an attractive choice to potential sellers. This is because sellers don’t have to worry that you could be turned down for a loan after they accept your offer. The pre-approval letter shows your lender has verified important information, such as:

• Your income
• Assets
• Debts
• Credit history

Once the verification process has been completed, your lender provides you with the pre-approval letter confirming the amount you have available for a mortgage. Often this means the closing process may proceed more quickly, if a seller accepts your offer over another competing buyer who has not yet completed the mortgage approval process. This can give you a strong advantage over other interested buyers. A pre-approval letter also tells sellers you are a serious homebuyer rather than someone who is “just looking.”

How do you obtain a mortgage pre-approval letter from your lender?

When contacting your lender, it’s important to make sure what you’ll be receiving is an actual pre-approval letter and not a pre-qualification letter. While the two may sound similar, they are very different. A pre-qualification letter is simply an estimate from your lender of how much you may be able to afford. Often, no credit checks or any other verification take place before a pre-qualification letter is issued, so it will not carry the same weight with sellers.

Capitol Federal® makes it easy to apply for a mortgage pre-approval with an online application available at capfed.com/applynow. While filling out the application, you will need to provide information on:

• Employment and income
• Debts currently owed
• Current assets

This checklist can help you gather the documents you’ll need to provide this information ahead of time and expedite the application process.

Once the application is completed, it will be processed and then reviewed by an underwriter. If approved, you’ll receive your pre-approval letter, and you can begin house hunting with confidence.

To learn more about the mortgage pre-approval process from one of Kansas’ leading residential lender teams, contact one of Capitol Federal’s loan professionals.
An important point to remember: if your financial circumstances change after receiving a mortgage pre-approval letter, it may no longer be valid. Make sure you contact your lender, if your financial circumstances change.

Equal Housing Lender

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Categories: Your Home , Smart Spending
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