Pre-Approved mortgages and home loans

It is highly recommended that you get your mortgage loan pre-approved before you start looking for a new home. You will have a better chance of securing a new home mortgage if you are pre-approved, you want to have as many positive advantages as possible when shopping for a new home.

There are a few different types of mortgage loans for types of buyers, those who are not pre-qualified or pre-approved, those who are pre-qualified, and those who are pre-approved. In understanding the appeal of each type of buyer, you need to put yourself in the seller’s shoes. The buyer is a complete stranger who is asking that you remove your home from the market and trust that they can afford to buy it. As the seller, which type of buyer would you prefer:

Not pre-approved
These buyers provide no evidence that they can afford to purchase your property.

Pre-qualified
Pre-qualified buyers have met with a mortgage specialist and discussed their finances; income, expenses, assets and liabilities. The mortgage specialist has given the buyer a letter stating, based on financial conversation, what the buyer can afford.

Pre-approved
Pre-approved buyers have submitted a complete loan application and provided a mortgage specialist with written evidence of income, expenses, assets, liabilities and credit. All information has been verified by a lender. The mortgage specialist has provided this buyer with a pre-approval certificate stating that the buyer has been pre-approved for the loan to purchase the home. As a potential buyer, a pre-approval certificate will help you stand out to the seller, making your offer a more solid one, and giving you the competitive edge.

Never be satisfied with a verbal agreement, make sure you get all agreements in writing!

For example the seller may verbally agree to include the refrigerator in the sale, but it is not contained on the written purchase and sales agreement – you should not sign this until it is included. Only agreements that are written in a contract are enforceable – avoid oral agreements at all costs.

Please contact us if you require any further information or would like to apply for finance:

Complete this short form online

011.327.4489 / 0861 1111 93

morne@mortgagepluscc.co.za

www.mortgagepluscc.co.za

Improve your chances with Mortgage Plus

Here is what the lenders don’t want to see.

Banks don’t like to see too many recent requests for credit clearance on your record, so this is not the time to buy a new car or furniture on a hire purchase agreement.

In fact, you might even think twice at this stage about taking out a new cell phone contract or applying for a new store card.

Homebuyers should also do their best not to change jobs while in the process of applying for a home loan. Lenders look for employment stability, so if your reason for moving house is to take up a new position, you will need confirmation of this from your new employer to accompany your home loan application, in addition to your salary records from your current job.

In addition, homebuyers should not try to conceal anything in their financial past from the lender. If you have borrowed the cash to pay the deposit and will have to repay it, say so. If you have had credit problems in the past, admit to these too.

Today’s sophisticated credit checking systems will inevitably reveal the whole story, and once lenders find you have been less than truthful about one thing, they will naturally start to question the rest of your home loan application and once that happens, the chances are very good that it will be declined.

Two further pieces of advice for homebuyers are not to go on a spending spree for their new home if their home loan application is approved, and not to proceed with an application if a change in their circumstances means they will not be able to afford the repayments.

Some additional expense on a new home is to be expected, but you should resist the temptation to splash out and deplete your cash resources at least until you have taken transfer and established the actual running costs of your new home over a few months.

And if something should happen that makes a big change to your financial picture, such as a disabling accident or a retrenchment, for example, it is not a good idea to proceed with an application in the hope of securing the loan before the bank finds out what has happened. If there is a good chance you will not be able to repay the debt, you should rather withdraw the application – and keep your credit record intact.

Please contact us if you require any further information or would like to apply for finance:

Complete this short form online

011.327.4489 / 0861 1111 93

morne@mortgagepluscc.co.za

www.mortgagepluscc.co.za