Buying a home can be a stressful process if you do not take the time to educate yourself about choosing the right lender. If you want to avoid additional stress and save time and money do not skip two very important steps before searching for your dream home.

Understand Your Loan Options

The very first step is to choose a mortgage lender, or mortgage advisor, that will spend time to understand your financial and home buying goals. Check out Google reviews to see what other home buyers, like yourself, have commented about their homebuying experience. Often times, choosing a local mortgage broker that is familiar with your community is helpful. The lender should proactively communicate with you and spend time to put together a written Custom Loan Plan to show you loan options. Choosing the wrong loan plan can cost you thousands of dollars over the life of your loan or even result in a loan denial.

Understanding Pre-Qualification vs. Pre-Approval

Once you have chosen the Loan Plan that will accomplish your financial goals it is time for the lender to work on your pre-approval. You do not want to look at homes without knowing that you have a solid loan approval. The loan pre-approval will determine your maximum purchase price based upon the down payment you have selected. The pre-qualification is a starting point and is based upon a review of some financial documents or verbal information you have provided- but it is not a rock-solid approval. A pre-approval takes the next step to actually run automated underwriting program and have an underwriter review your file. Basing your home search on a preliminary pre-qualification could lead to underwriting surprises after you have already spent money on home inspections and an appraisal. Not to mention the emotional pain from finding out you may not qualify for your dream home.