by Lara Sawyer

Created on: November 26, 2007

There are some confusions regarding loan pre-qualification. People usually think that by pre-qualifying you have all you need to start shopping for a property. Actually, pre-qualifying will let you start looking for a property knowing that you have high chances of getting approved for that amount and those terms but that pre-qualification is not based on a thorough analysis of your income and credit and thus, there is no guarantee that you will get approved.

This usually implies that the final loan will have different terms than the ones stated in the pre-qualification letter. This has further implications: You need to be careful to provide true information to the lender so the pre-qualifying is as adequate as possible and you should have some savings in case the amount lent is a bit lower than you thought it would be. A lower amount assigned is a common problem that causes many transactions to fall because the buyer didn't take the necessary precautions.

Pre-Qualification Explained

When you contact a mortgage loan lender to obtain a loan quote, the lender will present you an offer for which you will qualify if your financial and credit situations are exactly as you explained and if there are no additional variables that can modify their decision. Therefore, it is possible for you to request the lender to put this in written in order for you to use that information to shop for a suitable property.

You need to understand that legally speaking, there is no obligation for the lender to comply with that offer because they will state that the loan approval is subject to a credit and financial analysis for the actual qualification to take place. Therefore, you need to be extremely sincere with the lender (if there is something, they will find out) and you need to be prepared for unexpected situations that can shrink the amount of money you will actually obtain.

Actual Qualification for A Home Loan

The qualification process is different because once the lender has provided you with the result of the qualification, there is a legal obligation to respect the terms of the resulting document. Therefore, only final qualification guarantees you that you will get the loan you need with the terms agreed. However, in order to go through the qualification process and get approved for the final loan conditions, you will need to meet the requirements set by the lender and also go through a credit verification process.

This implies that you will need to apply with enough time for this process to be completed. If you are rushed, chances are that many problems will arise. The lender has to analyze your credit score and history, your income and financial situation, the documentation and legal stance of the property and the owner too.

Only after all these requirements have been fulfilled, you will be able to obtain approval for the loan and know the exact final terms including how much money you can obtain. You should put aside some extra money in case the resulting amount is not what you expected. Such precaution has solved not few but many real estate purchase's emergencies.

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