Thinking about buying a home? An important first step and get mortgage pre-approval online.
In today’s mortgage market it’s more important than ever before to line up your financing well ahead of time. You don’t want to risk losing your dream home because you don’t have financing lined up!
Very simply, mortgage pre-approval is the process of working with one or more lenders to complete a mortgage application and get credit approval for a mortgage.
Our affiliate, LendingTree Mortgage Loans, makes getting mortgage pre-approval online easy and provides the additional benefit of comparing four competing bank offers. By completing one simple form, you’ll receive up to four custom offers in minutes.
Simply provide basic information about your desired mortgage and your employment and credit history. Then:
- Sort and compare your offers instantly
- Read lender reviews and ratings
- View loan details in a simple, easy-to-read format
This free application takes just minutes, and there’s no obligation. Get started now:
What Is Mortgage Pre-Approval?
When you buy a home, typically a bank does not firmly commit to give you a mortgage until you are under contract to buy the house and the bank has a chance to research and appraise the property you are buying.
A mortgage preapproval can give you a head start on the final mortgage application process even before you start house hunting and, most importantly, give you (and sellers) confidence that you can get approved for a mortgage the kinds of homes you want to buy.
How is pre-approval different than pre-qualification?
Often times, you may hear the term “prequalified” for a mortgage. This may or may not mean “pre-approved”. Some banks will offer mortgage pre-qualification that’s basically just a letter saying that you have OK credit and you earn enough money to buy a house costing X dollars. Such a prequalification letter is better than nothing when you go to make an offer on a home, but it’s not as good as mortgage pre-approval.
Why Get Pre-Approved?
When you get pre-approval, banks will look at your entire financial situation (credit score, income history, and assets and liabilities) to verify that you meet their underwriting criteria for a home loan. Because so many factors can influence the banks’ decision, it’s always better to know ahead of time—before you put an offer on a home—if there are red flags in your application.
What credit score do I need to get a mortgage?
These days, a fairly good one. Though a few lenders may require a minimum credit score as high as 760, if your FICO credit score is 720 or above, you should have no trouble getting approved for a mortgage. If your score is between 660 and 720, you may have to shop around until you find a lender that will approve you. And if your score is between 620 and 660, it will be harder still. But do keep in mind that banks look at your whole financial picture when issuing mortgage pre-approval, and a mediocre credit score may be less important than how much you earn and how much debt you have.
The thing I like about LendingTree is that you can complete a quick form with no obligation that will show you what your options are based upon your general credit profile.
Start now with LendingTree Mortgage Loans »
