Published December 4, 2025
GET PREQUALIFIED
This month I wanted to talk about the power of being prequalified for a loan prior to looking at properties and putting in offers.
There’s nothing worse than getting your heart set on a property only to find out you can’t afford it. It is also unfair to sellers because if an unqualified buyer goes under contract on their home, the house is withdrawn from the market and sometimes that stigmatizes a property.
Consequently, it is extremely important for all buyers to be prequalified for a loan prior to looking at properties and putting in an offer. There are a lot of different types of lenders to check into, depending on your needs. If you have a good down payment or possibly a lot of capital in other properties and a solid relationship with a traditional bank, then that may be your best route. There are both mortgage lenders and mortgage brokers who have access to several types of loans.
The more detailed the pre-qualification process, the more likely a buyer is to know exactly where they stand, and the more solid chance that their offer will make it to the closing table.
It’s important to shop around for interest rates, amount of down payment, loan origination fees or points, whether or not the loan will be kept in-house, and who does their underwriting. If a lender can keep your loan in-house and has in-house underwriting, the process generally will be a lot smoother. There are also specialty loans out there, like rehabilitation loans, first time home buyer loans, or rural housing loans.
Sometimes there are monies available to help with closing costs, but there may be strings attached that if you try to sell the property too soon you might have to pay it back..
If you can use an FHA loan, you will get to have a smaller down payment than a conventional loan, and if you’re a veteran and have VA loan benefits, you can get by with nothing down at all. Different types of loans have different requirements, which a lender can explain more fully, as it’s important to know your options.
Having your pre-qualification letter in hand and attached to the offer you submit makes your offer much stronger - especially if you find yourself in a multiple offer situation.
If you don’t know where to start, give us a call here at Lewis Realty, and we can give you a list of lenders that we have had successful transactions with to get you started on the right path.
