Are your buyers pre-approved?

My name is Michelle and I am a Contract Processor. Over the last year I have seen many Realtors and Loan Originators in the State of Washington become frustrated because they either have a buyer or borrower who writes an offer for a house and then during the loan process the issue arises that the borrower can not qualify for the house that they want. Or the unexpected happens and the lender changes their guidelines at the last minute or worse yet they are no longer in business.

This can be simply avoided by pre-approving the borrower for the maximum loan amount they can afford before they shop for a home. Pre-approving is different than pre-qualifying someone. To obtain a pre-approval means that the borrower has gone through the process of becoming credit qualified with a lender for a certain loan amount. Also the Loan Originator could have the borrower pre-approved with more than one lender in case the unfortunate happens and one of the disappears or no longer offers that specific product which has happened lately with increasing frequency.

What does that mean for Loan Originators and Realtors? Simple: An easier transaction due to the fact that the borrower has all ready met the credit qualifications and all that needs to be done now is qualifying the property with the lender.

So why waste time showing homes to potential clients if they have not been pre-approved for a loan? It will mean money in your pocket faster if the borrower takes the time to become pre-approved instead of waiting until they find the home of their dreams and then realizing that they can't afford it or can't get approved for that large of a purchase.

I welcome in comments or suggestions as to how we can all work together to make the purchase of a home easier for all involved.