A pre-approval is one of the greatest assets a home buyer can get.

Pre-approval is a written assessment of your worthiness for a loan. When you seek pre-approval for a home loan, your lender will assess your ability to pay, as well as your credit history, to decide how much they are willing to lend you.

Although you can make an offer and go through to the start of property settlement without having pre-approval, smart home buyers get pre-approval before they make an offer.

Really smart home buyers get pre-approval before they even start going to home opens.

Here’s why having pre-approval will benefit you:

When you visit a home open and talk to a real estate agent, letting them know that you have pre-approval will convince them you are a serious buyer. Once a real estate agent knows you’re serious about buying, they’re likely to contact you about potential properties before they hit the market, giving you a better choice of properties.

To sellers, pre-approval is almost like a guarantee that the deal they strike with you won’t fall over. Sellers want certainty, because if the buyer they choose can’t get finance, the seller will have to start marketing their property all over again. A seller will accept what they believe is best for them, even if that is a lower offer because that buyer had pre-approval.

Getting pre-approval will give you a much better idea of what homes are within your price range, so you’ll know in advance which properties are too pricey to waste your time on.

Imagine falling in love with a property and even going so far as to make an offer on it – only to find out at that it’s out of your price range! Save yourself the disappointment of having a deal fall through by knowing in advance what you can (and can’t) afford.

If you’re planning to buy a home, get a pre-approved home loan (click on our Finance tab for preferred lenders).You will find it beneficial to securing your preferred home.