Bee | High IQ Buying: When To Get Pre-approved
December 26, 2022

Bee: High IQ Buying | When to get pre-approved
When buying a home, you want to get pre-approved at the right time, not too soon and not too late. Simply put, you don't want to get pre-approved until you're ready to make an offer on a home. The seller and their agent want to know that you're a qualified buyer before even looking at your offer. Having a verified pre-approval letter, meaning your credit, income and assets have been verified, will set you up for success and set the tone of how the rest of the home buying process should go.
Minutes count in hot real estate markets, like Florida, and being pro-active instead of reactive will ensure you have the best chance to close and avoid problems. But when should you apply for pre-approval? There are key things to consider for when you should get pre-approved.
Too Soon
Getting pre-approved too soon can waste time, money and a credit pull. While it's totally up to you when you do apply for pre-approval, if you're not buying within the next 6 months, you probably shouldn't get pre-approved unless you simply want to know for sure what you're qualified to buy.
Too Late
Just as getting pre-approved too soon can be a waste of time and resources, getting pre-approved too late can cause you to miss out on getting the offer for your dream home in before other offers, and accepted by the seller. You're competing with other pre-approved buyers and if someone has their offer accepted before your's, you've lost out on the home.
Just Right
Generally speaking, if your wanting to buy a home a certain month, you need to get pre-approved about a month before that. Your credit report is good for 4 months, and, if you run over 4 months, an expert mortgage broker can easily re-pull your credit without hurting your score.
Shopping for homes with a verified pre-approval letter will boost your chances of having your offer accepted before someone else's, and allow you to hit the ground running because you've already qualified to buy the home. Seller's and their agents love to work with buyers who have already been pre-approved to buy, that way they can move fast as opposed to waiting for you to get pre-approved before they entertain your offer.
Getting pre-approved the month before you start making offers on homes will allow you to get ahead of the game by completing a key step in advance instead of scrambling to do so as soon as you find the home you want to make an offer on. Getting pre-approved the month before you want to make an offer gives you the luxury of working out any small issues regarding your credit, income or assets; the three pillars of a verified pre-approval letter.
Making an Offer
Before you can make an offer to buy a home the seller and their agent will want to know you're a qualified buyer. So, no matter where you are in the process, you'll need to get pre-approved and give the seller a copy of the pre-approval letter when you're ready to make an offer. Seller's and their agent will prioritize an offer from someone who has their income and assets fully verified in advance. This is why top lenders and brokers insist on verifying those things before sending out a pre-approval letter.
If you're thinking about buying a home and will buy it as soon as you find it, you should probably go ahead and get pre-approved that way you are ready to go and make a qualified and verified offer as soon as you find your dream home. The longer you wait to get your offer in, the greater your chances are of losing out on the home. Speed is key and minutes count, especially when it comes to your dream home!