We have talked about mortgage pre-approvals for Miami Beach Real Estate over the past several weeks, so I think that it is prudent to include that the reader understand that pre-approvals can get stale. It used to be that pre-approvals were as good as long as the buyers situation didn’t change to any great degree… that is no longer the case.
As mortgage banks try to find the sweet-spot for Miami home loans underwriting guidelines, you can be sure that many aspects that they use to qualify a home buyer are in a state of flux. This is only magnified as the Miami home buyer tax credit nears its April 30 end-date.
Here is my Miamism Mortgage Corner piece of advice for the week – if your Miami pre-qualification and/or pre-approval letter is more than six weeks old, it would be a good idea to get “re-pre-approved”. That’s a mouthful isn’t it, phew. Bottom line though – mortgage guidelines have been moving around and your original letter may not be any good.
For example, over the past six months, the majority of mortgage lenders have pulled back on their risk tolerance with respect to:
- Maximum debt-to-income ratios
- Minimum allowable credit scores
- Desired reserves after you close
Buying a condo? Even the property takes on scrutiny of its own, so beware… especially if you are shooting for FHA financing.
It takes more than just a good job and solid credit to get approved these days and today’s buyers should revisit their qualifications. Today’s mortgage applicants need to be a complete package… and if you need help with putting that together, you can always reach out to me at Chris at Miamism dot com.
Being pro-active brings other advantages, too. If a mortgage re-pre-approval does unearth an issue, it’ll be easier for every party to the transaction to address and correct it up-front versus trying to clean up a mess once a home’s already under contract.
Talk to your agent and your loan officer about your pre-qualification/pre-approval letter before you bid on a home.
