Ok, so I think I was a little rushed into thinking that we were ready to go house shopping. I mean, we have to get pre-qualified first, right? Or should we get pre-approved? I still don't think that I understand the difference. If we don't find a house within the pre-approval timeframe will we need to get re-pre-approved? Should we find the house first to ensure that our pre-approval will still be valid? ??? I should mention, for those of you who don't know, that Ronnie and I never went through this with our first home.
When Ronnie and I bought our first home in Texas we didn't use a buyer's agent and we never got pre-qualifed. I think it was a simpler time and a simpler market. In Texas, we walked into an open house and fell in love at first sight. We weren't looking to purchase a house. So, needless to say we weren't pre-qualified, much less pre-approved. We just fell in love. As the builder and the real estate agent, the seller liked us (for some reason) and decided that he wanted us to have the home. Pretty sweet, huh? The next day we met with his broker and started the loan application process. In less than 15 days we were living in the home. No home inspection, no down payment, no closing costs. Maybe we were a bit naive. In the end it all worked out. Fast forward a few years. We still own the home and the seller is one of our good friends. But we're not in Texas anymore, Toto. Now that we are trying to buy a home in Cali, we have to do things a bit differently. Last weekend Ron and I met with a loan officer and started the process to get pre-approved. After meeting with the Broker, we have a pretty good idea for the amount we will be approved and what the monthly payments will be. Now that the paperwork is done, our next step is finding a buyer’s agent.
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