home buying questions.

shanwalk2 · January 2011

DH and I were looking online and found some homes we are very interested in touring. We didn't think we were financially ready to purchase, but after crunching some numbers with the current interest rates - we're more ready than we thought.

We've done a pre-application online and received a "conditional loan approval" letter.

The mortgage guy is now asking for tax information, W2s, SS cards, DLs and other paperwork. We haven't even seen these homes so I'm not sure why he needs all this info right now. Is this typical? I don't mind gathering it all... I just thought the pre-approval was all we needed before we started our search, so buyers knew we weren't some 20 year olds with $40 in our bank account trying to play like we were going to buy...

What was your experience? Are we on the right track? What's next? Thanks for any help you can offer... we're feeling like total newbies and we want to do what the brokers ask - but not if it's overkill at this point.

risa_4-11-09 · January 2011

There are alot of factors that come into play. What is your time frame? When is your lease up etc. If it's farther out I would say wait on the full out paperwork. You don't want the exta pulls on credit. Not unless you are ready to pull the trigger. There are alot of cost factors that come into play that aren't involved with downpayment etc. Alot of first time homebuyers aren't aware of. You do not have to be totally pre-approved to start looking. You could call your favorite realtor

and set up some showings. Or meet up for coffee to talk through things, gives you a chance to figure out some of the details.

FireChiefsBride · January 2011

I would hold off on going further with the loan. When DH and I bought the house before this one, we did all that work just so they could have it on file, and then had to re-do everything with updated info when we finally got there. A conditional approval is sufficient to have a few looky-loos at houses in your price range. You never know if you'll find "the one" or be compelled to hold off a little longer.

I would recommend getting on board with a real estate agent now, though. They have the best access to the houses and even just starting with someone now, can get an idea of what you're looking for and pick out a few more based on your responses. We learned the hard way that even looking at builders without a REA can backfire; you want to be working with someone who has your interests in mind.

MnMShaw · January 2011

When we went through this process we gave very little information to get the pre-approval letter. We did not provide any other information until after we had found the house we liked, put in an offer, and that offer was accepted. That all happened quickly for us, but the lender still didn't get that information until we had an offer accepted. So, if I was you, I would wait until you have found a house first. As long as you have a preapproval letter, that's all you need to start looking. As others suggested, get in touch with a realtor to see the house and if it's a good realtor then they will walk you through the entire process. Our realtor was able to answer all of my (possibly stupid) questions, walk us through everything, argue for us, and make sure everything got taken care of. He has even called us several times since we bought our house just checking on us.

shanwalk2 · January 2011

Thanks, ladies! You kind of confirmed what I was thinking...

I've been emailing back/forth with an agent so we'll see how this weekend goes! I know I've been asking a million stupid questions... but she's been super nice.

risa_4-11-09 · January 2011

Just an FYI if she is the listing agent for a home you are interested in she is not able to represent your best interest as buyers. She has a contract with the sellers, not necessarily you. And if she is doing dual agency then she is pretty mug a middle man, not being able to give either party objective help or opinions.

AustinBride06 · January 2011

Ditto the others, esp Carisa's point about getting your own agent that does not represent a house you're interested in. We ended up meeting our realtor at one of her open houses, but we weren't interested in that particular house as it turned out so it didn't matter. But we clicked with her right away and knew she'd be a good fit for our search and all our rookie homebuyer questions.

home buying questions.

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