Are you ready to purchase a new home? A pre approval is a great way to let the seller know you are ready to buy and you have enough money. For most people buying a home means getting finance and one of the first steps on this journey is getting your pre-approval. Pre-approval, also known as conditional approval or approval in principle is an indication from your lender as to the amount of money you will be able to borrow. Getting a pre-approval lets vendors and agents know that you are serious about buying a property.

WHAT IS A PRE-APPROVAL?

• Your loan has been pre-assessed by the bank.
• The pre-approval can be valid for 3-6 months
• You will know your maximum purchase price
• You can have more confidence knowing that your personal situation meets their lending criteria

SO HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT GETTING A PRE-APPROVAL?

One of the first things to do is to gather all of your financial information so that you can get an idea of how much you can borrow. If you are a little unsure of what you think you can get then head over to www.limemortgagebrokers.com.au/calculators and use our free Borrowing Power Calculator. This will give you a rough idea of the amount you may be able to borrow.

Getting all your financial information together also helps immensely, this way you can answer most questions on the spot. You will require things like your income and assets, existing debts and living expenses (bills, entertainment, food and car expenses). Having your payslips and tax returns on hand also helps. Loan statements for existing loans and credit card statements showing your credit limits. All these things will help speed up the process of your application.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The next thing you want to do is set up an appointment with a mortgage broker. This is where we are happy to help out. We can be contacted at shawn@limemortgagebrokers.com.au or on 0415 761 799 to schedule and appointment that is convenient for you. We will then provide you with a list of what you need to have with you, such as the above information we have just provided. At the time of the appointment we will then be able to assess your approximate borrowing figure and whether your circumstances meet the lender policy and then if you are happy to move forward, we will fill out the pre-approval application form for you.

Then assuming your credit rating allows you to borrow money you will then receive a conditional approval certificate from the lender. This certificate will usually be valid for around 90 days so you can start shopping around. This pre-approval is just an indication, at this stage, and is not a guarantee of the amount that you may be able to borrow. But you can use this figure to work out the approximate amount of money you can spend on a property, remember to take into account the deposit you already have. Don’t forget you will also need to factor in costs like stamp duty and a few other fees. You can use the Stamp Duty Calculator we have available for free at www.limemortgagebrokers.com.au/calculators

Securing your pre-approval first allows you to house hunt with a little more confidence. Obtaining pre-approval is a very important step in the loan process.

Once you have placed an offer on a house this is when you will need to get a full approval done. Get in contact with us again with the full details of the property you want to buy and we will work through the loan process with you. This is the exciting part, getting you into your dream home. We love it when people find their dream homes and we love sharing this experience with you.

Here at Lime Mortgage Brokers we want to help you, by providing you with valuable information to guide you through the loan process and beyond.

“our knowledge and experience is yours”

Shawn Swart – 0415 761 799