Why You Need a Pre-Approval Letter in Your Home Search

This blog is about the three reasons why it’s important that you have a pre-approval letter as early as possible in the home buying process.

Knowing What You Can Afford

You see, oftentimes people go on things like a mortgage calculator and other things, so they guesstimate what price range they can afford to buy a home. People may start trying to go see homes and open houses. Although it may give a rough idea, you may be surprised what else you need to know for home buying!
You may be surprised that with our low-interest-rate environment, people can actually afford a home that’s a lot more than they’ve budgeted. It’s important to get a pre-approval letter! A pre-approval letter will ensure you, your real estate agent, and the home sellers that you can afford to buy a home.

Pre-Approval Makes your Offer a lot Stronger

In the San Francisco Bay Area, it’s very common to receive multiple offers. Real estate agents may receive 5, 10, 15, or even 20+ offers on a single listing. It gets very competitive when there are multiple offers on a home. You need a strong pre-approval letter that has been vetted by your loan agent, or even better, an underwritten approval that has been vetted by the underwriters at the bank. Oftentimes on our listings, I will call the lenders and ask more information on home buyers.
It’s important that we know that we can trust the home buyers. Even if it’s the highest price I may not recommend that my client take that offer. When you’re on the home buying side, you want to make your offer as competitive as possible.

An Expedited Buying/ Selling Process

If you have an underwriting approval or pre-approval letter then you can do some home shopping. Know that if you see one that has recently hit the market and they haven’t stated the offer date, move quickly. If you can make the process quick and easy for the home sellers, then you should!
Plus, that could allow you to potentially get a better price. If the agent is just looking at offers as they come without a set date, they likely aren’t planning to do a lot of negotiation. Additionally, if you get a full underwriting approval and it goes through that whole process with your bank, then the underwriters have already approved you for a loan. If your offer is accepted, they are familiar with your file and can close escrow on the loan with ease. This gives you an important advantage in a competitive multiple offer situation.

I hope this breakdown was helpful. If you have any questions, I hope that you reach out to me! I’m constantly posting relevant information on the San Francisco real estate market. Please follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube!

Watch the video below for a realtor’s take on “3 Reasons To Get a Pre-Approval Letter!