A: Yes! This should be your first step in the home-buying process and I am happy to recommend a good lender to you. The pre-qualification process is important for a few reasons.
First, it lets you know how much house you qualify for and what that equates to in a monthly payment. Note that what you qualify for and what you feel comfortable paying on a monthly basis may not be the same. Often you will qualify for more house than you feel comfortable with. A good lender will create a GFE (good faith estimate) which breaks down a potential home price into a monthly payment, taking into account things like your down payment, property taxes, homeowners insurance, and HOA fees. This is what you need to pay attention to. Once you figure out what monthly payment you are confortable with, let me know the price point that corresponds with so we can make sure you are only seeing houses that you can afford. It is no fun to look at $300,000 houses only to find out that you only feel comfortable with a monthly payment that equates to a $250,000 house!
Second, we will need your pre-qualification letter in order to submit an offer, especially if the home is a foreclosure or short sale. With the mortgage business the way it is right now, we want to show the seller in every way possible that you are the most qualified buyer possible so they are more likely to accept your offer.
I have a list of lenders that I know and trust, whom I would prefer that you work with. If you have a lender you have worked with before and trust, that is fine. But I have had too many clients get burned by bad lenders that promised things they could not deliver, which causes a lot of undue stress. My preferred lenders are all fabulous and very good at what they do.....and most of all, they are honest. They don't hide fees, they don't promise something they cannot deliver, they will let you know if you can get a better deal somewhere else, and most of all: they get my clients to the closing table quickly, easily, and great service! (and no, unfortunately they do not pay me to say this!)
Thanks guys!
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