Pre-approve Your Buyers So They’re Ready for Home Buying in the New Year
December is typically filled with holiday gift buying, entertaining, and other festive distractions, so home buying volume is usually low. However after the New Year, your buyers may be ready to shop for homes once again. That makes now a good time for them to become pre-approved for a mortgage so they can hit the ground running in 2014 while rates are still low.
Buyers may use the terms “pre-qualified” and “pre-approved” interchangeably, but a pre-approval is a stronger tool because it’s based on verified income, employment, assets, and credit.
With a pre-approval in their hands, your buyers:
- Know how much home they can afford. They can focus only on those properties that fit their budget and lifestyle.
- Strengthen their offer. A pre-approval shows sellers that your buyer is serious and has a commitment from their lender, so they are more likely to make it to closing. It also gives your clients an edge on other buyers who have yet to secure financing.
- Move through the mortgage process more quickly. By completing a pre-approval, some of the underwriting steps are already done, streamlining the actual mortgage process.
Would you like to know more about how pre approvals can be an important sales tool and a valuable benefit to your customers? Call your loan officer for details.