Are you considering buying your first home but have NO idea where to begin? Maybe you are a seasoned home buyer and would like to have a better understanding of best home buying practices this time around. Either way, knowing what you can afford as a home buyer is an important first step in the home buying process as it helps you to make an informed decision based on your financial situation. Lets dive in to what it means to be pre-qualified for a home loan versus being pre-approved!
What This Means To You As A Borrower
Before you contact a realtor and begin the search for your dream home, its best to get pre-qualified by a lender! Your realtor will likely ask that you get pre-qualified before they show you any homes to ensure they aren’t wasting your time by showing you homes that are out of your price range. Getting pre-qualified is simple and our team can provide you with a pre-qualification letter the same day you submit your loan application.
Once you submit an application on our website, a Trinity Oaks Mortgage loan officer will use the information from your application to review your income and give you a general idea of how much you are able to borrow. Pre-qualification is NOT a commitment to lend and it does not guarantee you will actually receive that amount. Instead, it gets the ball rolling and paves the way for the next step; pre-approval.
The Difference Between Pre-qualification and Pre-approval
During pre-qualification, the lender performs a very basic review of your financial situation in order to tell you how much of a home loan you may be able to qualify for. Think of it as a free consultation between you and the loan officer.
Pre-approval is a more in-depth process. Here, the lender verifies your income, debt level, credit score and other aspects of your financial situation to determine home much they are willing to give you a loan for. Being pre-approved by a lender gives you a head start in the loan process once you find your dream home which is a BIG plus!
How Basic Is Pre-qualification?
Getting pre-qualified by one of our mortgage professionals is very simple. In fact, it is our mission to create a simple home buying experience for our customers! (Learn more about what drives our team here)
For a Trinity Oaks Mortgage Loan Officer to provide a borrower with a pre-qualification letter, they will need the borrower’s first and last name, phone number, email address, current address, estimated monthly income and Social Security number. You can easily provide this information to our team through our online loan application or call our offices to speak directly to a Loan Officer who would be glad to guide you through the steps. If you would like to know exactly how much Trinity Oaks Mortgage would be willing to provide you a loan for, and have a head start in the home buying process, our team would be glad to pre-approve you, as well.
For more information on the home buying process and to access helpful home buying tools, visit the Home Buying Resource Center on our website! It would be our pleasure to help ensure your home buying experience is as simple and enjoyable as possible. Get in touch with our team and let us help you purchase the home of your dreams.
Do you have questions about pre-qualification and pre-approval? Leave them in the comments below!
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