{"id":187,"date":"2025-01-22T13:41:30","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T19:41:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes\/?p=187"},"modified":"2025-01-22T13:41:30","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T19:41:30","slug":"one-homebuying-step-you-dont-want-to-skip-pre-approval","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes\/?p=187","title":{"rendered":"One Homebuying Step You Don\u2019t Want To Skip: Pre-Approval"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 class=\"entry-title\"><a>One Homebuying Step You Don\u2019t Want To Skip: Pre-Approval<\/a><\/h2>\n<div class=\"mb-3 mt-4 hide-print\"><span class=\"posted-on ms-1\"><a><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2025-01-16T11:30:00Z\">Thursday January 16th, 2025\u00a0<\/time><\/a><\/span><span class=\"ms-1 entry-date\"><a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.simplifyingthemarket.com\/en\/category\/buyers\/?a=1000025117-654188f2b9e9f721433bea74f0bf3424\">For Buyers,\u00a0<\/a><\/span><span class=\"ms-1 entry-date\"><a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.simplifyingthemarket.com\/en\/category\/home-prices\/?a=1000025117-654188f2b9e9f721433bea74f0bf3424\">Home Prices<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<div>Article from Keeping Current Matters<\/div>\n<div class=\"share-group hide-print\">\n<div class=\"d-flex\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"card-text w-100 mb-3\">\n<p>There\u2019s one essential step in the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.simplifyingthemarket.com\/2024\/12\/18\/the-biggest-perks-of-buying-a-home-this-winter\/?a=1000025117-654188f2b9e9f721433bea74f0bf3424\">homebuying<\/a>\u00a0process you may not know a whole lot about and that\u2019s pre-approval. Here\u2019s a rundown of what it is and why it\u2019s so important right now.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>What Is Pre-Approval?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Pre-approval is like getting a green light from a lender. It lets you know how much they\u2019re willing to let you borrow for a home. To determine that number, a lender looks at your financial history. According to\u00a0<em>Realtor.com<\/em>, these are some of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DDujCNKP_tA\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">documents<\/a>\u00a0a lender may ask you for during this process:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>W-2s from the last two years<\/li>\n<li>Tax returns from the last two years<\/li>\n<li>Pay stubs from the last 30 days<\/li>\n<li>Bank statements from the last 60 days<\/li>\n<li>Investment account statements (if applicable)<\/li>\n<li>Two years of history of where you\u2019ve lived<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The result? You\u2019ll get a pre-approval letter showing what you can borrow. Keep in mind, that any changes in your finances can affect your pre-approval status. So, after you receive your letter, avoid switching jobs, applying for new credit cards or other loans, or taking out large sums of money from your savings.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>How It Helps You Determine Your Borrowing Power<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>This year,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.simplifyingthemarket.com\/2024\/12\/10\/what-will-it-take-for-prices-to-come-down\/?a=1000025117-654188f2b9e9f721433bea74f0bf3424\">home prices<\/a>\u00a0are expected to rise in most places and mortgage rates are still showing some volatility. So, since affordability is still tight, it\u2019s a good idea to talk to a lender about your home loan options and how today\u2019s changing mortgage rates will impact your future monthly payment.<\/p>\n<p>The pre-approval process is the perfect time for that. Because it determines the maximum amount you can borrow, pre-approval also helps you figure out your budget. You should use this information to tailor your home search to what you\u2019re actually comfortable with as far as a monthly mortgage payment. That way, you don\u2019t fall in love with a house that\u2019s out of your comfort zone.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>How It Helps You Stand Out<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Once you find a home you want to put an offer on, pre-approval has another big perk. It not only makes your offer stronger, it shows sellers you\u2019ve already undergone a credit and financial check.<\/p>\n<p>When a seller sees you as a serious buyer, they may be more attracted to your offer because it seems more likely to go through. As Greg McBride, Chief Financial Analyst at\u00a0<em>Bankrate<\/em>, says:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cPreapproval carries more weight because it means lenders have actually done more than a cursory review of your credit and your finances, but have instead reviewed your pay stubs, tax returns and bank statements.\u00a0<\/em><strong><em>A preapproval means you\u2019ve cleared the hurdles necessary to be approved for a mortgage up to a certain dollar amount.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card-text w-100 mb-3\">\n<h3>Bottom Line<\/h3>\n<p>If you\u2019re planning on buying a home, getting pre-approved for a mortgage should be one of the first things on your to-do list. Not only will it give you a better understanding of your borrowing power, it can put you in the best position possible to make a strong offer when you find a home you love. Connect with a trusted lender to learn more.<\/p>\n<p>My direct contact information is below. I am here and happy to help in any way!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Helping Buyers and Sellers with Real Estate in Lufkin, Huntington, Nacogdoches, and all over East Texas since 2012!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Twila Bertrand, Realtor<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>CENTURY 21 Cota Realty<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Email: twilabertrand@gmail.com<\/p>\n<p>Cell# 936-208-7631<\/p>\n<p>Office Address:<\/p>\n<p>1306 N Medford Drive<\/p>\n<p>Lufkin, Tx 75901<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>A link to my Zillow Profile with tons of client testimonials from over the years is below:<\/p>\n<div class=\"card-text w-100 mb-3\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zillow.com\/profile\/Twila%20Bertrand\">https:\/\/www.zillow.com\/profile\/Twila%20Bertrand<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One Homebuying Step You Don\u2019t Want To Skip: Pre-Approval Thursday January 16th, 2025\u00a0For Buyers,\u00a0Home Prices Article from Keeping Current Matters There\u2019s one essential step in the\u00a0homebuying\u00a0process you may not know a whole lot about and that\u2019s pre-approval. Here\u2019s a rundown of what it is and why it\u2019s so important right now. What Is Pre-Approval? Pre-approval [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":194391,"featured_media":188,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[51,28,31,57,50,70,40,42,24,20,48,15,46,58],"class_list":["post-187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-estate","tag-buyers-mistakes","tag-buying-a-home","tag-buying-facts","tag-buying-power","tag-buying-smart","tag-credit-score","tag-home-affordability","tag-invest-wisely","tag-local-agent","tag-local-realtor","tag-own-sooner-vs-later","tag-realtor","tag-trust-the-pros","tag-trusted-realtor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/194391"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=187"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":189,"href":"https:\/\/twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187\/revisions\/189"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}