Buying a New Home - How to Get Pre-qualified for a Home Loan

If you are hoping to speed up the home buying process, you may consider getting pre-qualified for your home loan. With a pre-qualification letter in hand, real estate agents and sellers will take you more seriously. Furthermore, sellers may readily accept your offer over another bidder because financing is partially secured.

Pre-qualification letters are issued by mortgage lenders. Before applying for a home loan, research different lenders and inquire of their services. The easiest and fastest way to compare different lenders is through the internet. Using online services to secure a home loan is very convenient. Moreover, using a mortgage broker to locate a good lender will save time.

There are lenders for every credit type. Hence, if you have poor credit or no credit history, it is possible to get pre-qualified for a mortgage. In this situation, a sub prime lender or high risk lender will offer the best rates.

After selecting a good mortgage lender, the lender will request specific information. This information is necessary is order to complete the pre-qualification process. Before approving your request, the lender must ensure that you are capable of handling a mortgage payment.

For that matter, you must provide total monthly income and total monthly debts. Paycheck stubs or banking statements are acceptable. To determine your total debt to income ratio, you must also tally credit card and other consumer debts. If you have a low debt to income ratio, you will qualify for lower rates. If you have excessive debts, the lender will consider you a higher risk, and increase the interest rate.

Finally, before a pre-qualification letter is issued, the mortgage lender will pull your credit. Credit scores carry a lot of weight. Individuals with low scores rarely obtain a good interest rate. Upon reviewing your credit, lenders will know your amount of credit inquiries, credit accounts, balances due, derogatory remarks, etc.

After the lender approves your request for a pre-qualification, they will prepare a letter for sellers. The pre-qualification letter simply states that an applicant's income and credit have been verified, and the applicant is pre-qualified for a loan. However, pre-qualification letters do not guarantee a loan.

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