Pre-Approval vs Pre-Qualify

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THE IMPORTANCE OF A HOME LOAN PRE-APPROVAL AND WHAT IT MEANS

Buying a home is one of the most important and serious decisions you will make, in making this decision you and your family should be certain you have all the details ready. This Pre-Approval will help determine how much house you can afford.

What does the Pre-Approval mean to you and how does it affect the home buying process?

• A term used by the mortgage industry which informs you, your Realtor and the seller that you can secure a loan for a specified amount of money based on the financial documentation you have provided.
• This approval in most cases is good for 90 days. In some cases, up to 120 days. (be aware if you need a new approval it could require another credit pull on your credit report)
• This is also an important and advantageous tool for your Realtor, as it will show them your purchasing power and will make their responsibility of finding the right home for you much easier.
• In a competitive housing market, the Pre-Approval will help you to stand out among the others, it says you are ready, you can meet the offer price and or counter offers, and it assures the seller you are serious about purchasing a new home.

HOW LONG DOES THE PRE-APPROVAL PROCESS TAKE?

The process itself could take as little as 1-2 hours or as much as 24 hours. The more of the requested documentation you provide the faster the process.

Personal documents you will need to provide:

• Your income (Paystubs) for the past 30 days (If your income includes or is from pension plans, annuities and or Social Security you will need to provide the most recent award letter, earning statements and or distribution receipts)
• Income Tax Returns for the previous 2 years (must include Schedule C returns or other business returns if self-employed or paid by 1099)
• Previous 2 years W2's and/or 1099
• Most recent 2 months of bank statements for all checking and or savings accounts (must include all pages including any blank pages)
• Most recent quarterly statement for any and all retirement accounts, pension plans and 401k.

Pre-Qualification vs Pre-Approval

• A Pre-Qualification is based on a verbal communication of your employment, income and asset information, usually only good for 30 days.
• A Pre-Approval is based on actual documentation of your employment, income and assets and valid for 90 days and in some cases up to 120 days