Preparing to buy a home is an exciting process, but the last thing you want to do is limit your possibilities, right? It would be quite the bummer to find the perfect home, just to learn that you don’t qualify for it. This is what can happen if you don’t get preapproved before you start the homebuying process.

Typically, when people are ready to jump into the homebuying process, they hop online to get an idea of the sort of houses they are wanting to look at, as well as the neighborhoods. Without a preapproval, you may not know what your price range is and could be looking at homes that may be well outside of your budget. With a preapproval, you can sort by price, find the right neighborhoods to loon in, and can ultimately find your perfect house a lot faster.  

Realtors often prefer to work with people who are preapproved because they know the deal isn’t likely to fall through and they know what you can afford and can find your the best houses to look at.

Preapproval is also a good first step because it will give you more room to negotiate house prices. Sellers could be more willing to lower the asking price, include appliances, cover closing costs, or make other allowances to work with a preapproved buyer.

Overall, preapproval is just the best way to go when starting the homebuying journey. If you start the process without being preapproved, you’ll spend a longer time looking for homes and you run the risk of being turned down on offers. Be prepared and be preapproved!