https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY-lF7jrtCs
"My lender says they won't fully underwrite my pre-approval. Is this normal? Okay, so here's what you guys need to know: the type of pre-approval you get will depend on the lender you're working with. And it could be that you're working with a lender at Company ABC and another lender at Company ABC. One lender might fully underwrite your loan; the other may not. They may say they can't. Okay, so we're going to talk about that.
Now, something you guys should know if you're new to the channel: I'm licensed in 48 states to do mortgages. Of course, I want to do your mortgage; that's why I'm here. So, I'm licensed in 48 states to do mortgages. My team is one of the top purchase teams in America, so we do a lot of pre-approvals. And here's the thing: every single pre-approval is fully underwritten. Yeah, that's right. Not many lenders do this, so I'm going to tell you why they don't.
Okay, so one, they're lazy. It's more work. It's that simple. Like, look, there's no guarantee when you're doing a pre-approval as a lender. There's no guarantee that you're going to work with me just because I do your pre-approval. Doesn't mean we're married. You could ditch me tomorrow for, you know, Bob at some random lender. So, it's a lot of work for something you don't know if you're going to get paid for. Okay, that's the first reason a lot of lenders don't do it. Sorry, allergies.
The second is, they don't have the staff for it. You know, 2023, 2022 have been really tight on lenders across the country. There's lots of mortgage companies going out of business. You know, I think there's going to be a lot more mortgage companies that go out of business. They're operating on as few people as possible to try to stop the money bleed. So, they just don't have the staff to do that. You know, they have the ability to underwrite your file if you're in contract, but they don't have the staff to give you that level of service.
The third reason may be they're a broker. You know, brokers, oh, there's a lot of places where they're not going to fully underwrite your pre-approval, and that's because they don't have the underwriters in-house. They don't have the processors in-house, and to have someone process their file costs money, and they can't charge for a pre-approval.
Okay, so those are generally the reasons a lender is not going to fully underwrite your pre-approval. Now, do I sometimes not do it? Yeah, if someone says to me, 'Jen, I don't want to do it,' I'm like, okay, that's your choice. But you know, if the file's really clean, I'm still going to require docs. I'm not going to do a letter without documents. But there's a lot of lenders that will, you know, they don't want to lose the client.
So, okay, should your lender do a fully underwritten pre-approval? Yeah, I mean, really. Like, would I, personally, as a lender – and this isn't just because I do it – it, like, the reason I do fully underwritten pre-approvals is based a lot on what I've experienced as a buyer over the years. So, here's why you want one: it reduces stress hugely. You know, buying a house is a very stressful experience. I don't care what HGTV shows you or House Hunters, you know, they make it look all fun. It's stressful.
So, one of the most stressful aspects of getting a home is the mortgage process, right? The thing about getting fully underwritten before you're in contract is we're taking anything that could be problematic and we're handling it before you have money on the line. That's the big thing. Once you're in contract, you've got your earnest money deposit, you're paying for inspections, you're paying for an appraisal. You are going to sleep better at night if you know the loan part's already good.
Okay, because I bet you there's probably someone that can drop in the comments that they got into contract, their lender hadn't fully underwritten them, they paid thousands of dollars in inspections, and then they got denied. It happens every day in America. You know, lenders don't put in the effort; they don't do their homework upfront because there's no consequence for the lender. That's the thing. If a lender gives you a pre-approval letter, you spend thousands of dollars on inspection, earnest money, and then the lender says you don't qualify, the lender has no fine or fee. You're just pissed at them, right?
And so, a lot of companies are like, ah, you know, it doesn't happen that much. Like, if we get one person, it's their fault, and they blame you, right? They'll be like, well, you know, we declined your loan because you don't make enough money. And it's like, wait a second, why the hell didn't you know that before you gave me the pre-approval? Right? But that's what happens every day.
So, look, that's why I do it, is because it reduces the stress. Okay, the other thing is it makes your offer stronger, and that's so important. You know, whether you're in a competitive situation or you're not, the stronger your letter looks, the more likely you are to get your offer accepted. And overall, it provides a drama-free transaction.
Okay, because you don't need the headache of a lender saying, 'Well, what about this? What about this?' at the same time the realtor's saying, 'Well, what about this? What about this?' and an inspector saying, 'Well, look at this, look at this.' So, we do all of that upfront so that you can go to sleep at night going, 'Okay, Jen's got me covered. I'm good here. Like, yeah, let's lock the rate, Jen.' You know, we always reach out first day you're in contract, we go over rates, do you want to lock, what are we doing, you know, but the bulk of the work's already done because you were fully underwritten and pre-approved.
So, that's why I do it. Uh, personally, would I work with a lender that won't do it? No. And if a lender said to me, 'You're so strong, you don't need to do it,' I'd be like, I want to do it. And the reason I want to do it is because I want my life to be easier as a buyer. I want a stronger offer because it's not going to cost me anything to get a fully underwritten pre-approval. So, why wouldn't I want a stronger offer? And I want a lender that's willing to take the time, energy, and effort to educate me through the process and make sure that my money's safe. That's the thing. That's what a fully underwritten pre-approval does.
You know, look, if the house is falling down, we can't control that. But if we've done our homework upfront, we can at least say to you, 'Hey, you're not going to lose your money because of something that you've done with your income.' So, I hope this video has been helpful. As always, please feel free to reach out.
Now, if you're like, 'Okay, Jen, I'm gonna work with 10 really bad lenders, and I'm going to have you fully underwrite me so I can sleep at night,' guys, just because I fully underwrite you and approve you, doesn't mean if you go with one of those 10 lenders that they're going to approve you. That's what people don't realize either is they think, 'Oh well, I got approved with Jen, therefore Bob will approve me.' I don't know. How do you structure your loan? How good is he? Does he know the guidelines? Did he know what to provide to the underwriter? You know, you gotta be careful, guys.
So, yes, please feel free to reach out. Any questions, comments, drop them in. Have you had this happen to you, where, you know, you've had a lender give you a pre-approval and then decline you, and you haven't had any information change? So, thanks for watching so much. I will see you guys."