Finance Friday: 4 reasons why talking to a lender should be your first move

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Apr 29, 2020 4:06 PM PDT
1 minute read
Finance Friday: 4 reasons why talking to a lender should be your first move

SUMMARY

The idea of relocating immediately sparks a desire to jump online and start looking at houses. It is a natural curiosity to start visualizing where home will be. One late night jump down the rabbit hole of internet home searching will have you falli…

The idea of relocating immediately sparks a desire to jump online and start looking at houses. It is a natural curiosity to start visualizing where home will be. One late night jump down the rabbit hole of internet home searching will have you falling in love with the stainless steel kitchens, shiny polished floors, and before you know it, you'll be itching to book a realtor and make this possibility a reality! What I'm about to tell you goes against everything in your gut, but I promise it makes sense to press pause.


Four reasons you NEED to talk to a lender first:

    Time is valuable

    Any realtor that values their time and takes their jobs seriously is going to ask you if you are pre-approved. A realtor will want to make sure they get you in front of homes that are within your budget and not waste time researching and showing homes that are outside of this range. A realtor also wants to make sure you're in a financial position where homeownership is the right choice for you.

    Be ready to jump on your dream home

    You want to have a solid pre-approval once you begin browsing homes. Some markets are more competitive than others. Especially here, you want to be financially ready to jump in with that solid pre-approval (and not a pre-qualification) to have your offer taken seriously.

    Solid financing=increased offer acceptance rate

    If you start a pre-approval before home shopping, you are better positioned for a quicker closing time, which makes for happier agents and sellers. Bonus points when your lender calls the listing agent when you make an offer to tell them that you have a full-document pre-approval, which is a reassuring sign that financing is not going to fall through.

    Expectation management

    Once you start looking at homes online, if your price range drops, nothing will meet the same expectations that you had when you started imagining moving into those larger, fancier homes. To set the right expectations up front, it's best to have an honest conversation with a lender about short term and long term financial goals.

    Once you start home shopping, there is a lot coming your way between contracts, inspections, addendums, moving boxes, and more. Taking the time to understand various procedures and costs ahead of finding your dream home will leave you less stressed and more confident in your choice. Having the right lender to be your partner in the process is key!

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