- First, home buyers that want a pre-approval should look at several lenders before making a choice. Different lenders may offer differing loan programs or slightly different rates. Borrowers should find a lender that is easy to work with and is willing to negotiate on mortgage terms and help the potential buyer out with good advice. Buyers can choose to provide financial information to more than one lender at the same time to receive different types of pre-approval.
- Home buyers should plan out their home buying process before actually applying for a pre-approval. This is usually a matter of balancing the time it takes to get the pre-approval versus the time it takes to bid and buy a house. Lenders can take several days or longer to offer pre-approval, but the letter itself only lasts for 30 days before it loses it authority and must be replaced by a new letter. This creates a month-long window that borrowers must make their offers, counteroffers and purchases in, which can require planning before hand.
- Like qualifying for the loan itself, getting a pre-approval is largely a matter of financial status. Home buyers seeking a pre-approval should aim for a credit score of act least 650, preferably higher, along with a strong credit history and a dependable income. The higher the down payment rate that buyers are willing to offer, the more easily they can qualify for a good mortgage and the more willing the lender will be in turn to offer pre-approval.
- Lenders will pre-approve a buyer for a particular mortgage amount and down payment, but they will not usually pre-approve a specific interest rate. Interest rates for mortgages are always changing and can change even up until the closing date itself, so lenders cannot guarantee a particular rate, at least not until the buyer applies for the mortgage itself and locks the rate in. However, borrowers can ask their loan officers for a good idea of prevailing interest rates for someone in their financial condition.
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