There are three main reasons to get pre-approved, or at least pre-qualified before finding your new Kingsland home.  Often I speak with potential home buyers and explain this to them.  While they acknowledge the logic behind my explanation, they often do not follow through with any urgency.  As I explain each of the points I am confident you will say to yourself "that is common sense".  The truth is that it is common sense; the tough part for you as a potential home buyer is getting motivated to take action.

For the sake of this discussion we are going to discuss getting pre-approved.  Getting pre-qualified may be sufficient, but it does not take much more effort to go the extra mile and get pre-approved.  For an explanation of the two different terms review the Real Estate Terminology page.  If you are an experienced home buyer, a power earner (high income) and have excellent credit you probably already know all these details, but you should still refresh yourself on the items.

1. Getting Pre-Approved is a major key in reducing stress when you find your Kingsland dream home.

Countless home buyers lack the discipline to go to a lender and "deal with all those questions" so they put it off until it becomes a requirement.  They have searched for homes, encountering real estate agents that do not take them seriously, often they find themselves getting more and more frustrated, and finally they find the home they fall in love with.

Now at this point they are emotionally attached to their dream home and excited about the prospect of owning this home.  This emotional attachment leads to the "motivation" to get a loan.  Unfortunately they are now wrapped-up emotionally in a home they may not be approved to buy.  The idea that they have "worked" so hard to find a home they love only to fall short creates a threat of loss.  Almost everyone has at some point in their life said: "not knowing is the hardest part".  This threat of loss and lingering feeling of not knowing creates stress.

So you have to ask yourself, "Why create stress about financing after you find your Kingsland home when you can simply have the discipline to handle the loan first?"

2. The threat of loss and feeling of not knowing causes buyers to pay too much for their Kingsland home.

When buyers make offers on their new home they will either make it from a position of fear and apprehension or a position of confidence.  When experiencing fear and apprehension buyers tend to offer a more aggressive amount ensuring the seller will find the offer acceptable.  This is to compensate for the stress and the buyer is attempting to overcome the fear of loss by ensuring the seller will take the offer.  It may work to ease your sense of apprehension, but only at a genuine financial cost...a high sales price.

Making an offer from a position of confidence is a much better feeling.  The seller has a home you are interested in and you do not want to lose your dream home.  When you are confident in your ability to "close the deal" you can negotiate with the seller with equal leverage.  In addition, it is entirely possible the seller is in a stressful situation themselves (foreclosure, transferring, divorce, etc.).  When the seller is in a stressful situation you actually gain the upper hand in negotiations.

3. Kingsland real estate agents are more likely to work hard for you.

Real estate agents are normal people.  They earn a living by working and providing a service.  As an agent that genuinely excels at what I do for my clients, I truly earn my commission.  Buyers that have the insight, knowledge, and discipline to get Pre-Approved are like gold to a real estate agent like me.  Just as you should be screening your real estate agent (see Screening Kingsland Agents), you are being screened by real estate agents.

In all honesty I generally give a home buyer a little of my time before they get pre-approved so we can get to know each other professionally.  This introductory stage allows us to screen each other but does not last too long.  Because my income is based on commission I simply can not afford to spend all my time with someone that either will not or can not get approved for a loan.

With a Pre-Approval you are sending real estate agents (including me) the message that you have a plan and are serious.  You want a nice home and have the confidence to buy the home intelligently and informed.  You know how much you can afford and how much you plan to spend on a home.  Because you took the time to get pre-approved we won't spend two months driving around looking at homes for $225,000 only to discover your income affords you to buy $175,000 and below.  We will find you a home under $175,000 that you love without the wasted time and heartbreak of losing your favorite $225,000 home.

If you take these three points and turn them into action you will find yourself confident, have less stress and the home purchase process will be exciting.  In addition to this advice, I can also get you connected with an affordable lender that will make the home purchase smooth with savings on your loan fees and interest rates.  Just call or email me for my mortgage recommendations.