Buying A Home: Pre-approval

Getting pre-approved is a great way to be prepared before you even start looking at homes. Pre-approval is a preliminary written commitment from a lender qualifying the borrow for a particular loan amount. The lender will run your credit and typically charges about $25. Ask for a copy of your credit report from the lender so you can use it even if you decide to go with another lender. It is best to get pre-approved by big, established banks that everyone knows like Wells Fargo, Bank of America etc., when making your offer on a house. Typically, the seller’s agent will ask you to provide a pre-approval letter along with your offer. Having the pre-approval letter from one of the bigger, more well-known banks strengthens your offer and increases its credibility. After the seller has accepted your offer, you can shop around until you find the best rate – typically, that will not be at one of the big banks.