Typically, the Lake Havasu real estate market heats up in the springtime. It usually hits its peak in May. That means that the hottest time for home sales is right now. If a new Havasu home fits into your plans right now, you should definitely think about finances first. While pre-qualification was enough in the past, most sellers won't even consider an offer without a pre-approval letter. Even better, you might want to think about going the extra step to pre-underwriting. What's that? Let me explain.

Pre-Approval vs Pre-Underwriting: What Home Buyers Need to Know

Pre-Approval

The pre-qualification process takes a few minutes with your lender. They ask you a couple of questions about your monthly income, your monthly debt load (approximately), and what you expect to put down. This gives them a rough estimate about what you might qualify for with a mortgage loan. The pre-approval process takes longer. First, they expect you to provide your financial documents (ie W2s, paycheck stubs, bank statements, tax returns, etc.). Next, they pull your credit report. Then, they verify all of the information you provided. This process usually takes approximately two weeks. Thus, the sooner you start, the better.

Pre-Underwriting

Home buyers may want to go one step further: pre-underwriting. What does that mean? That involves everything stated above. Except, once you receive your pre-approval, the lender sends it on to the final step before closing: underwriting. This step takes anywhere from a couple of days to over a week. During that time, the underwriter reassesses all of the information gathered to determine your actual creditworthiness. Not only does this make you look even stronger to a home seller, but it can also significantly shorten your escrow time. That may boost your appeal to sellers as well.

Talk to your lender before you even start looking at Lake Havasu homes. Get the ball rolling on a mortgage loan to put yourself in a stronger position once you find and fall in love with your next property. Then, contact us to help you with your search.

Sunstone Real Estate Group at Coldwell Banker Realty, Lake Havasu City, AZ