Knowing the difference can be pivotal if you happen to be falling in love with a home already.
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Pre-Qualified: This generally means that it shows your ability to repay a loan based on the information you provide to us.
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‍Pre-Approval: This comes in the form of a written letter saying that you are qualified to purchase a home at a price determined by the amount of income you bring in as well as other financial assets that we calculate. This also takes into account credit history and debts you may have.
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Credit score is an important factor in determining whether or not you can take on a mortgage for a home. Here is how we help you map everything out:
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Try to know your credit score beforehand: This generally means that it shows your ability to repay a loan based on the information you provide to us.
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‍Make sure your score is accurate: Some credit report and scoring sites offer free scoring analysis but you want to make sure that the score you are getting is as close to an accurate picture instead of an estimate. Check out any errors and report them to the bureau too, you do not want to have a score be impacted because of a miscalculation or due to an unresolved dispute.
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Pay down as much debt as you can: Simply put, pay down the bills that are tethered to your credit. The lower these are, the higher your credit score goes and you will have more wiggle room to work with financially.

Take care of those delinquent charges: Get started on paying these bills first and foremost. The last thing you want is to have a creditor asking for payment in the form of collections. Set up payment plans if you can do it, but knock out these charges first to see your score rise like a phoenix from the ashes.
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We use a lot, and we mean a LOT of terms and acronyms in this business, so it can get easy to be overwhelmed while in the middle of the mortgage process (it can get confusing after hearing things like PMI, FHA, USDA, etc.) Don't worry though! We have a handy glossary of terms here so you can know exactly what we are talking about if we happen to slip and start using acronyms in the middle of our conversations with you.
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Understanding the full scope of your housing expenses can directly impact your idea of where you want and can afford to purchase your home. Here are a few things we like to help our clients think about:
• Monthly bills such as electricity, water, phone, etc.
• Living costs such as food, entertainment, etc.
• Estimated homeowners insurance
• Estimated property taxes
• Estimated homeowners association fees (if applicable)
Plus, you can't forget the costs that come up during the actual mortgage transaction such as closing costs and down payment and we can help you figure out all that when you work alongside us so that we can paint a realistic picture for you as you search for your next home.
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We understand you are really excited to find the home of your dreams...just make sure you don't turn it into a nightmare scenario while already in a potential stressful time.

With that being said, make sure not to purchase any high ticket items such as furniture or a car. You might also want to wait on moving large cash deposits around too because it will raise eyebrows on where the money is coming from. If you have any questions on any of this, we can guide you in when and what you should do in this time so you can get your house keys without any difficulties.
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