Obtaining Pre-Approval Before Beginning Your Northwest Arkansas Home Search

The first step in any home search is finding out exactly how much home you can afford and securing the financing to make the purchase. While you can get a rough estimate through pre-qualification, taking the extra step to obtain pre-approval will give you some added advantages.

Pre-approval helps you:

• Understand your financial condition
• Know exactly how much home you can afford before you begin your home search
• Strengthen your purchasing power when making an offer

When you find a home you love and are ready to make an offer, your mortgage pre-approval lets the seller know that you’re serious and fully prepared to buy their home, putting you in a stronger position than other potential buyers.

Here are some of the documents that you will need to provide your lender to get the pre-approval process started:

Income

• Current pay stubs, usually for the last two months
• W-2s or 1099s, usually for the last two years
• Tax returns, usually for the last two years

Assets

• Bank statements
• Investments/brokerage firm statements
• Net worth of businesses owned (if applicable)

Debts

• Credit card statements
• Loan statements
• Alimony/child support payments (if applicable)

These are the first steps to gaining pre-approval to begin your homebuying journey. Finding the right agent will help you succeed throughout the process! Check out our post on ‘Why You Need A REALTOR® When Buying Your Next Home‘ and don’t miss our next post about what you may need to provide a lender when applying for a home loan!!