Congratulations! You are ready to buy your new home. You've made a list of features you want in your new home. You've selected several  neighborhoods you like. You've found a REALTOR® who understands your needs. Now you are ready to start looking! Well, not just yet. You are going to need to know in what price range to look. And, unless you recently won the lottery, you are going to borrow a portion of the money needed to purchase the home. The next step is to get pre-approved for your mortgage.

With a pre-approval letter, you'll be able to look for a home with the security of knowing exactly how much you can borrow, and let sellers know they are working with a serious buyer.

Advantages of Pre-Approval
Pre-approval will determine the maximum amount you can spend on a house before you shop
and allow you to focus on the home selection process.
• Most sellers and agents work only with qualified buyers.
• Sellers are more likely to accept a secure bid over other offers for which financing is still
pending. In a competitive situation, a pre-approved mortgage can make the difference
between getting the home of your dreams and losing out to someone else. Pre-approval is
essential in a “sellers market,” or where the housing supply is limited.
• The contract you sign upon submission of your offer allows a finite period (usually 10 days)
in which to secure financing. If you fail to find a mortgage within that period, the seller may
drop your offer.
• The time between acceptance of the offer and the closing is greatly reduced.

Written by: By Carolyn Furcolow, Keller Williams Town & Country Realty