Why should you get pre-approved prior to house shopping in today's market?

It has been hard not to notice the numerous changes in the housing industry over the last year or two. Lenders are definitely tightening up on their loans now more than ever. It is very important to go through the pre-qualification process prior to shopping for that new home. It is not as easy as it once was to obtain a home loan. Credit scores are more important now than ever and if you don’t have a “perfect” credit score meaning “A” credit then it will affect your interest rate, which in turn will affect your monthly payment and what you can qualify for. You must have money down, the days of 100% financing and no income verification are long over. Only legitimate down payment assistance programs are going to be accepted by lenders in the next couple of weeks. Gone are the days of seller funded down payments from programs such as Nehemiah. Legitimate programs such as CHFA are still in existence though. Even though all of the lending standards have tightened it is not impossible to obtain a loan. Many lenders have been closing their doors lately so do your research and make sure that your lender has a long standing reputation in the industry. You can always ask your REALTOR for a couple referrals to lenders that you can interview. For more information on how to start your home buying process visit www.coloradosuccessteam.com or email us at cosmithteam@msn.com.