Why should you get prequalified and then preapproved for a mortgage before you begin your search for a home? Because there are 3 people who will benefit from your preapproval: You, your real estate agent, and the seller from whom you eventually buy a home.
You: The most important beneficiary, of course, is you. One of the most common questions we get from users of this site goes something along the lines of "Please let us know how much house we can afford." We're stumped! Why? There are simply too many variables--credit history, income, debt, special mortgage programs and variations in qualifying guidelines between different mortgage types--to answer that question. The only sure way of getting the question answered is through prequalification. The mortgage prequalification step is a relatively simple one, but it is an important one. It begins the process of formally applying for a mortgage, and it gives everyone involved--especially you--a clear sense of the direction they should be headed.
Your Agent: By knowing what your financial parameters are, you’re agent can spend more time looking for houses that "fit" and less time pursuing dead end homes. No matter how much you might want a 4000 square foot home for $275,000, if your qualifications say $125,000, your qualifications say $125,000. When it comes to mortgages, "yes, but" doesn't carry much weight!
The Seller: Are you looking to strengthen your bargaining position? Get prequalified. Want your offer to stand out in a case of multiple offers for the same house? Get prequalified. Look at it from the seller's perspective. If you had 2 offers on the table for your house, one from a fully prequalified buyer and the other from an "I'll get around to that soon" buyer--to which offer would you devote the most attention? Even if the prequalified buyer's offer was $1000 less, would you take the chance on the buyer that perhaps may not be qualified? When it comes to a seller evaluating offers, "a bird in the hand..." definitely applies.
