Within moments of your first interview with a real estate agent, you’ll here the words “Prequalified or Preapproved for a mortgage”. Now isn’t the time to run for the hills. Most home buyers, buy with the help of a mortgage. So unless you can dig up a few hundred grand from the back yard, sooner or later you’ll need to speak with a mortgage lender. Don’t fight it. Here’s why:
In your home search;
- Helps to set your spending limit
- Allows you to focus your search realistically
- Aids your real estate agent in selecting homes for you to view.
In your home buying negotiations;
Scenario 1 - You are driving through your favorite neighborhood, you see a for sale sign on one of the properties. Grabbing your cell phone you frantically punch out the number on the sign and speak with Agent X. Agent X rushes out to the house and gives you a two and a half second tour of the home, moving you through quickly and gushing on and on about what a great find this home is, and how she showed it only this morning, and the couple was very interested and would be writing up an offer this evening. Agent X then pulls out a contract and the next thing you know, your John Hancock is on the bottom line…. and you were just looking. This couldn’t happen right.
You are mostly right, although I have seen it a couple times. Most Real Estate Professionals are extremely ethical and truly want to see you in a home that you will enjoy for years to come. The most important thing that I want to point out about scenario 1 is this - the real estate agent you called works for the seller. His/Her job is to protect and promote the sellers interest, and to sell the sellers property. He/She does not work for you, and in this scenario I doubt that Agent X had your best interest at heart.
