Buying a house is one of the biggest purchases you’ll make in your life. It can also be one of the most intimidating, especially if you’re trying to figure out how much money you’ll need for a mortgage down payment and what kind of house you can afford.
This is where mortgage prequalification comes in. Getting prequalified for a mortgage is one of the first steps you’ll take when you’re serious about buying a home. It’s a great way to help you figure out if you meet the minimum requirements for a mortgage as well as how much you can afford to borrow, and it’s not hard to do.
Select a Lender
Your first step is going to be picking out a lender. If you’ve never bought a home before, this might be the hardest step. How do you know if a lender is giving you the best rate on a mortgage?
For the time being, don’t worry about whether you’re getting the best deal or not. You’re not making any commitments when you apply to get prequalified, and you can even get prequalified by multiple lenders if you’d like. Just select a lender that you’d like to work with, such as your main bank or credit union.
Complete the Prequalification Form
Once you’ve chosen a lender, go to their website and fill out their mortgage prequalification form. In addition to your personal information, you’ll be asked about your income, your credit score and what other debts you currently have. While filling out the prequalification form, remember that even though the lender won’t verify the information you provided, the more accurate you are on the form, the more accurate your prequalification will be.
How financially fit are you?
Wait for the Lender to Contact You
Once you submitted the prequalification form, all you have to do is wait for the lender to get in touch with you. They’ll run a soft credit check on you that won’t impact your credit score, and then contact you with the results.
Based on the information you provide, the lender will be able to tell you if meet the minimum qualifications for a loan. If you do, the lender will also let you know what interest rate you’re likely to get, as well as the maximum amount you’ll be able to borrow.
This is incredibly useful information to have. You can use it to figure out if you have enough money saved up to make a down payment, what price range you’ll want to search for, and even whether you’ll be able to get a better deal from another lender.
Get Prequalified for a Mortgage With First Alliance Credit Union
When you get prequalified for a mortgage, you’ve taken a small but significant step towards buying a home.
If you’d like to get prequalified for a mortgage, fill out the mortgage prequalification form on the First Alliance Credit Union website. One of our real estate loan advisors will look over your information and reach out to you with your prequalification information, as well as the next steps you should take.
