#11 Away We Go!







With all the important preliminary steps completed, your home loan application file has earned you Pre-approval, and Underwriting has notified your personal loan officer that you have a green light to move forward! That’s the good news phone call your mortgage loan officer likes to make! It’s so exciting to know that you can now move on to the fun part: actually looking for your home with the help of the Realtor of your choice.

Your Pre-approval is “valid” for 120 days from the date of the first Credit Report accessed by your home loan officer, back at the beginning of your application process.

Selecting your Realtor is an important step! It’s possible you have made that choice already, and further possible that your Realtor has already been checking the marketplace for you. If you have not chosen a Realtor and don’t know where to begin with that important step, your mortgage loan officer can advise you on how to make the right choice for your goals and needs.

Depending on the Realtor you select to work with you, they may ask to verify your “Pre-approval” status. Such verification will help furnish your Realtor with realistic guidelines for your home search, and keep your process on track. You will want to be viewing only properties that are within your price range.

It is important to be smart with your time and that of your Realtor, so that your home search is efficient and can be productive within the 120 days your Pre-approval is valid. If your search runs over the 120 days, it may be necessary for your mortgage loan officer to coordinate with Underwriting for an extension or renewal for another 120 days.

Are there any significant changes that may have occurred while you were moving through the application process, and that might significantly impact your ability to move forward?

Now that you are looking at property that fits both your financial profile and your personal needs, it’s important to review your overall personal circumstances. (Life, being what it is, sometimes brings surprise developments that can change the path we are on!)

Your mortgage loan officer has probably seen almost any situation that can arise when a Client is in the mortgage loan acquisition and home search process. It is important to communicate regularly with your mortgage loan officer concerning significant changes that might affect your plans.

Sometimes a Client’s job or career status changes and could influence your choices and qualifications – up or down! Everything from an accident, marriage, illness, becoming an expectant parent and dozens of other situations might arise.

Unexpected changes don’t have to run your plans off the rails, but adjustments might be necessary. Your mortgage loan officer is there to help.

Because your home search represents such a huge step in your life, it’s important to also look at impacts other than the big one of taking on the mortgage! You no doubt will fall into one or more of life’s “relationship categories:” – single, married, married with children, personal partnership or caregiver of someone with disability requirements. Those relationships can change. You and your mortgage loan officer can look squarely at significant changes (easy or tough) and find solutions.

While there is usually some downside possibility to every upside situation, I think it’s important to stay positive and enjoy the very special adventure of achieving home ownership at last!

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