https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu0MaEYe1a0
Hello there, future homeowners! I'm Jennifer Beeston, and I'm here to share with you the ultimate guide on how to get pre-approved for your dream home. Whether you're a seasoned homebuyer or a first-timer, these steps will help you navigate the process and ensure you're well-prepared for a successful home purchase.
Before diving into the technical aspects of homebuying, take a moment to visualize your ideal home. What does it look like? What's the weather like outside? Imagine yourself at the front door. This may seem unconventional, but it's an incredibly effective way to clarify your goals and preferences.
One of the most common questions is, "When should I get pre-approved?" Timing is crucial. If you're a planner like me and have a specific move-in date in mind, start shopping for lenders about a month before you plan to start house hunting.
For example, if you aim to start your home search in January, get pre-approved in December. This ensures you have ample time to gather necessary documents and avoid last-minute rushes.
Selecting the right real estate agent is as important as finding the perfect home. Choose an agent whose expertise aligns with your budget and preferences. If you're buying a $400,000 house, make sure your agent specializes in properties within that price range.
Remember, my team and I are here to assist you in this process. We don't charge referral fees to agents, and we're committed to helping you make the best choice.
Now, let's talk about the practical side. You'll need to provide certain documents to secure a pre-approval. If your financial records are pristine, this step can be quick. However, if there are complexities in your financial situation, it might take longer. Plan accordingly.
Different loan types have varying approval processes. For VA or FHA loans, you might undergo a manual underwriting process. Self-employed buyers and investors also have unique considerations. Knowing your loan type helps you anticipate the timeline.
While it's tempting to get your credit checked as soon as you start thinking about buying a home, avoid premature credit inquiries. Pulling your credit too early can lead to inaccurate rates and guidelines. It's best to wait until you're about a month away from starting your home search.
Finally, plan your shopping timeline carefully. If your lease ends in October, get pre-approved in Late July or early August. This gives you ample time to shop and close by October.
Remember, we're here to help you with this planning. Our calendar is open, and our team is dedicated to answering your questions.
I hope this guide has been helpful in demystifying the process of getting pre-approved for your dream home. It's an exciting journey, and with the right preparation and guidance, you'll be well on your way to homeownership.
If you have any questions or need assistance at any step along the way, don't hesitate to reach out. We're here to make your homebuying experience as smooth as possible.
Happy house hunting!
Are you guys ready for the number one sneak peek? The number one question that myself and my team get every day. Okay, so first of all, if you like this channel, hit like, if you haven't subscribed, hit subscribe, and if you hate me, drop a comment that's just filled with rock. 🤘
Okay, when should I get pre-approved to buy a house? Okay, the timing of it, everyone's always worried about the timing, and it's a very valid concern. Okay, so I would say to my long-term planners, if you guys are like, 'Jen, I want to buy in January, I not buy, I want to go shopping,' that's the key. When do you want to start shopping? So if you say, 'Jen, I want to start shopping in January of 2024. That is my New Year's resolution. I want my feet on the ground in January.' I like that, guys. I actually think that's a good one. Okay, great, let's get you pre-approved in December.
Well, wait, shouldn't I get pre-approved in October? No, are you going to go shopping in November or December? Well, no. Well, then, no. That's the thing, you want to get pre-approved about a month before you start shopping. And the reason why I say a month, like, could it be two weeks? Absolutely, guys, absolutely. The reason I say a month is because sometimes it takes you guys longer to get your documents to us, it's that simple.
Now, look, there's a lot of you guys who watch this channel and you guys come prepared, you guys have everything day one, and look, we love you. We love you. We actually have chat channels that are like, 'Oh my God, XYZ is a rock star, like they're prepared.' But like, I'm also realistic, not everyone has watched 400 of these videos, right? And give yourself time. That's why I'm saying a month because the other thing is that if you guys don't know what real estate agent you want to work with, we want time to help you select someone that's going to take good care of you.
Now, do you have to have us help you? Absolutely not, but we are here to say, 'Hey look, that person does no business, or this person does a lot of business based on your loan type, like, let's talk to this person, they seem to be in the same price bracket.' Because here's the thing, if you're buying a $400,000 house and you're working with a real estate agent where their average price is $2 million, you're with the wrong agent, right? You need to be with an agent that's in that four hundred thousand dollar price range.
So, we're always happy to help with that. I want to be really upfront here, we do not take referral fees from agents, we do not take anything from agents, we do not charge agents anything. I do not get any money from agents, ever. The reason I say this is because there's a lot of YouTubers, both lenders and real estate agents, where they will give out real estate recommendations and take a cut of their commission. It's really normal in the industry. I do not do it because I think it's gross, I don't. I make enough money lending that I don't need to pick the pocket of a real estate agent that's helping you guys. I think it de-incentivizes them, it's that simple.
Like, look, the real estate agent is going to work as hard as possible if they're getting their full commission. If they're not getting their full commission because they're paying someone to give out a name, probably not going to work as hard. And look, there are some agents that do, but overall, we don't do that, okay?
So, that's why we want to do a month ahead, we want to make sure that you have time to give us your documents. Also, look, your file may not be squeaky clean, not you know, if your file is squeaky clean, we can do a pre-approval within 24 hours of getting your documents, within 48 hours, let's say, on VA of getting your documents, um, but not everybody is squeaky clean. Sometimes, you know, there might be a little, as we call it, hair on the file. Cool, fine, we live for that, honestly, we do a lot of that.
So, with VA or FHA, you might be a manual underwrite, a manual underwrite is something that I'm gonna get fully underwritten before you write offers, okay? If you're an hourly worker and it looks like your hours might vary, I'm gonna get you underwritten before you're in contract.
You know, if you're self-employed, if there's something where I'm going, um, this is going to be up to underwriter discretion, I am going to want to get you fully underwritten before you go shopping, and that does with FHA and VA take longer.
Self-employed buyers, investors, we can't do same-day mortgage on that, you know, conventional, if it's a file that's incredibly complicated, it's not going to be in the same day mortgage program for a pre-approval, you know, that programs were very clean, easy, quick files, so we, we are going to fully underwrite it with our full team, and that can take 10 business days, right?
So, that is why I'm saying a month in advance is the way to go on this. Now, um, another thing to note, because sometimes I'll get people that are like, 'Well, Jen, I just, I just want you to look at it.' Okay, like, look, we can look at it, my team can look at your file, you know, if you fill out an application and say everything looks okay. But if you're really buying, you know, 6, 9, 10, 12 months, you really don't want a lender pulling your credit this far in advance. You don't want to do an application this far in advance.
So, I want to be really clear about that because I've gotten a lot of applications recently where they're like, 'Well, I'm looking in 2024,' and I'm like, okay, you know, here's what I'm seeing. But just keep in mind the rate I'm quoting is not going to be the same, the guidelines might change, your income could change, I don't know what's going to happen with your bank account over the next nine months, I don't know if you're going to perfectly pay every credit card bill, I don't know if you're going to open up new debt, there is a lot that can happen in a person's life over nine months. You could be in a community property State, doing a government loan, you could get married, that's going to change the whole thing, okay?
So, what's the takeaway here? If you want to get pre-approved to go shopping, which is the first step in buying a house, you want to do it 30 days before you start actually shopping, not closing, shopping, okay? And if you're like, 'Well, how long should I give myself to shop?' I would give yourself a couple months. The clients I see trapped in leases are the ones that wait too long to start shopping. So let's say your lease is up in October, I would say get pre-approved in Late July, no, yeah, Late July, early August, that gives you August and September to shop in to close by October, okay?
So, look, if you guys are like, 'I'm really unsure, get on the calendar,' Alyssa and Sandy are both wonderful, and they can help you plan when to apply. The key is, I don't want to hit your credit until you're ready. Also, we don't know the guidelines and rates are going to be a year from now, and it's better to just be prepared about a month before you get into contract. But look, if you have questions, reach out, we're happy to talk to you two years, three years in advance so that you can get on the path. We're happy to home plan that with you. I'm just saying, let's not hit your credit until we're about 30 days out.
As always, if you want to get a hold of me, a text, call, my phone number's everywhere, you can get on the calendar, guys. The calendar's free, it's open. I hired two people just to answer your questions. That's all they do, is they answer your questions. Um, email's fine, but usually I would say the calendar or give me a call or a text. Thanks for watching, guys.