5 Reasons to Get Pre-Approved Before House Hunting

If you've been thinking about buying a house, you're probably excited to get out there and start exploring your options. However, before you begin house-hunting, there's one thing you should do first — get pre-approved by your lender. Sure, it's not the most exciting part of buying a house, but it will help things go much smoother and may save you from a lot of frustration. 

Still not convinced? Here are five important reasons why you should take the time to get pre-approved before you start the process of buying a house. 

1. It Makes Your Search More Efficient

You might think you know how much you can afford to spend when buying a house. However, when you get a pre-approval, the lender looks at your current financial information and lets you know exactly how much they're willing to give you. You'll also know how much you need to put down and your estimated monthly payment.

Armed with this information, you can make sure you're only looking at homes within your price range. This will help you narrow down your search, saving you both time and frustration. When you know you're shopping in your price range, you can also focus on the home's features rather than on the asking price.

2. It Makes You a More Powerful Buyer

It might surprise you to learn that buying a house is often a competitive process. If you end up in a bidding war with other potential buyers, having a pre-approval could increase the chances that the seller will choose your offer. Even if there aren't any other bids, showing that you mean business by coming to the table with a pre-approval can give you more negotiating power.

3. You're Unlikely to Get an Unpleasant Surprise 

There are few things worse than falling in love with a home and then finding out you have credit issues or other problems that will prevent you from getting the loan you need. Going through the pre-approval process before buying a house will uncover any potential issues and give you time to fix them before you have to go through the heartache of losing your dream home.

4. You'll Still Have Time to Shop Around

It's smart to compare lenders when you're thinking about buying a house. Unfortunately, many buyers mistakenly think that getting a pre-approval means they're stuck with the lender that gave it to them. This isn't the case! You can still shop around and choose the lender with the best offer. Just make sure you get your quotes all within a short time period (typically two weeks or fewer), so your credit doesn't get dinged multiple times.

5. It Can Speed Up the Closing Process

When you apply for a mortgage loan, you need to provide a lot of information and complete many different forms. Getting a pre-approval before buying a house means the lender will already have almost all of the information they need. You won't have to scramble to provide documents at the last minute, making the closing process go smoother and getting you into your new home faster.

These are just a few of the most important benefits of pre-approval. If you think buying a house is in your future, do yourself a favor and start contacting lenders before you're ready to begin your search. You'll be glad you did! 

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