The Difference Between Pre-Qualification and Pre-Approval

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Today, we’ll talk about the difference between getting pre-qualified and pre-approved for a mortgage. When a pre-approved or pre-qualified client approaches me, I need to first find out which one they actually are. There’s a clear difference.

For pre-qualification, a buyer contacts a lender with financial information and the lender bases their decision off these numbers. This model relies heavily on information provided by the buyer directly. No pay stubs, W-2s, credit score report, or similar paperwork are involved for the lender to make this decision. While the buyer may still be honest with the lender, it’s not official.

For pre-approval, documentation is required to make a decision. This is what you really want. A buyer created a relationship with a lender by giving them required paperwork. There’s documentation attached to the information they provide. The lender has the opportunity to discuss a buyer’s work history and any debt to understand the loan. The lender then determines whether or not a buyer could afford a certain mortgage.

There’s a vast difference between the two processes! You’ll want a pre-approval letter over a pre-qualification as a buyer. If you’re not submitting paperwork, you are not pre-approved, but instead, only pre-qualified.

If you have any questions about this topic, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, please don't hesitate to reach out to us!

Is Now a Good Time to Sell in Long Island?

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A lot of my clients in Long Island think that the real estate market shuts down during the fall and winter, but this is not true. Traditionally the spring and summer real estate markets are the busiest, but just because they're competitive doesn't mean that it's also the best time to sell a home. 

The fall and winter may actually be the best time to sell your home, and there are two reasons why this is true. When you sell your home in the fall and winter, you have much less competition surrounding it. When you have fewer sellers in the market, your home has a greater chance of selling quickly and for top dollar.

The other important factor comes down to how many buyers there are in the market. In the fall and winter there are usually fewer buyers, but they are far more serious about purchasing your home. This means that you have an opportunity to sell in a less crowded market with more serious buyers.

What does that mean for you? It means that you can sell more quickly and for more money in the fall and winter! 

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or if you'd like to sell your home for top dollar this fall!

How to Buy a Home in Long Island

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Want to buy a Long Island home? Search all homes for sale

Today I'll go over the steps to buying a home in Long Island. From the outside, purchasing a home may seem like a long and tedious process, but once you have a basic understanding, it seems much less intimidating. 

Get approval from a reputable lender:
This is the most important part of the buying process. Once you know how much you can afford, it makes the process of searching for a home much easier. You'll also become a much more desirable buyer in the eyes of a seller once you have a pre-qualification letter in your hand.

Find a buyer's agent: 
It's important to work with one agent and form a relationship with them. This allows the agent to find homes that you want, and it makes the process of communicating much more efficient. Define what is important to you and let your agent know.

Locate the home that you want and put in an offer: 
Once you have found a home, you need to place an attractive offer on it (a good price with good terms) and get some inspections done. You'll want an engineer inspection in order to tell you what may need to be fixed and what maintenance needs to be kept up. 

After the inspections you'll receive contracts from the seller's attorney: 
You will sign these contracts with your down payment and send them back to the seller, who will also sign them. Once this happens, you're in full contract and the loan process can begin. This will take 30-60 days in Long Island, but after this, you're a homeowner! 

This was a brief run-through of the home buying process, so if you have more detailed questions about buying homes in Long Island, please don't hesitate to contact me.