There are plenty of reasons why you might be considering buying a new home in 2025. Maybe your family is growing, maybe it’s shrinking, maybe you’re just sick of renting. Whatever your reasons, starting the homebuying process can be intimidating and you could easily put yourself on the back foot if you don’t take the time to plan before you search. Today we’re going to talk about what is probably one of the most important things you need to do at the start of your housing search. Getting pre-qualified for a mortgage.
What Does Getting Pre-Qualified Mean?
Pre-qualifying for a mortgage is essentially the first step in applying for a mortgage loan. You will sit down with your lender of choice and lightly review your debts and assets to determine how much home you can afford in a best-case scenario. Without experiencing a hard credit pull that can affect your credit score. This is an opportunity to really understand the state of your financial affairs and start your home search from an informed place.
Why Is Getting Pre-Qualified So Important?
In your search for a new home in the Salt Lake Valley, you are going to experience some surprises. It comes with the territory of any home search. One of the things that shouldn’t be a surprise is whether or not you can afford the home you are looking at. Getting pre-qualified, and what that tells you about your finances, ensures that you will not be surprised when it comes time to make an offer on the home. Protecting you from some serious heartbreak.
What Comes After Pre-Qualifying?
When it comes to the lending side, pre-qualifying is usually not the same as pre-approval. Which does involve a hard pull that can affect your credit score. You will also have a lower maximum amount of what you will be approved to borrow than what you will qualify for. Depending on how serious and how soon you need to buy a home you may want to consider getting pre-approved at the same time you pre-qualify for a home because of this. On the homebuying side of things, you start your home search. You now know some general guidelines about what you can afford so you can start looking for houses in that price range. Or if there aren’t any houses, you talk with your lender and make a plan to get yourself to that goal. Likely building up better financial habits along the way.
Prepared homebuyers are happier homebuyers. Which is why we at Garbett Homes encourage you to take the time you need to be ready to buy your next home. Or even see if it’s time to stop daydreaming and start doing by getting pre-qualified. If you are ready to buy, we at Garbett Homes want you to know we build where you want to live. We hope to see you soon at one of our Model Homes in Millcreek, Murray, Midvale, Salt Lake City, Wasatch County, and coming soon to West Jordan.