mortgage preapproval rollover and fico score

Hi Andre,

It is very smart for you to shop for a good loan and find a mortgage professional with whom you are comfortable.

If the credit score you list is correct, you should have no issue obtaining a mortgage. I think the key would be to share your credit report, income documentation and other necessary information with the mortgage professional now and allow them to tell you in what price range you should be shopping.

If the lender pulls your credit, it will be valid anywhere from 30 -120 days before they would need to re-pull. If you are trying to lock your rate at this time, you will need to proceed with a complete application package and allow them to run your credit in order to get your approval. Just remember, the longer the length of your rate lock, the more it costs. Also, if you let the lock expire, you may need to pay a fee to get that lock extended.

Do you anticipate it taking more than 120 days to find a home and get to closing? If so, you may want to just get prequalified now to avoid all the credit pulls.

Although programs and guidelines have been changing quite often lately, someone with your score should probably not have an issue even if they tighten a little more.

One thing to remember - whichever way you go, make sure you continue to pay all other obligations on time and refrain from taking on extra debt until you are in your new home. Also, it would be wise to keep as much money in the bank as possible as many lender season (look at the amount of time you have had) the funds you will be using for any down payment and closing costs.

Please let us know if we can answer any further questions for you. Happy mortgage and house hunting.

Hi Andre,

Michelle has given you very good suggestions.

I agree with Michelle that you will have pay a fine if you "dont find a house within the designated time"

Best of luck,
Larry

thanks for your replies
i want to look for bargains in a deteriorating market which may very well take over 120 days.
one way is short sales and i heard they may take a lot of time. also some short sale lenders ask for a preapproval letter,do they?
thanks andre.

Andre,

Let me clarify a few things.....

First of all Larry is wrong......You don't pay any kind of "fine" for not finding a house in a specified time frame.......

For a conforming loan.....the RATE is associated with the subject property and so is the approval.......IE......If I run a pre-approval on you today....then you changes houses.......I need to re-run the approval again using the new home......and those approvals can change if the underwriting guidelines change.......All mortgage pulls in a 14 day period are treated as a single pull......

I think you do not need a full pre-approval with each of these lenders. You should be able to go through one and get a pre-approval for a conforming program or any program suiting your needs.

Then you should be able to shop around for rates and fees.

Hi Blak,

I think it is better if you first get pre-qualified with a few lenders and receive pre-qualification letters. Then search for a home that suits you. Your pre-qualification letter can help you get a suitable home within the price you can afford. This is because it implies to the sellers that you are a responsible buyer and have the chance to get pre-approved and get loan funds from a lender.

"can i roll my preapproval(s) over given my financial situation doesnt change to the worse? "
Please explain what exactly you're trying to say here.

Regards,

Jessica

there is no need for you to visit "a few" lenders. you can rate shop without the need for prequalification. keep in mind, however; that most lenders are paid for making loans, not answering questions. you may rub someone the wrong way by taking time to go through the process and then switch at the last minute because you found a better rate.

i wouldn't expect that a 780 credit score is going to worsen to the point that you wouldn't be qualified down the road a little ways. as stated above, a credit report is generally good for up to 120 days - if you find the right home and make your purchase within that timeframe, the prequalification you receive should suffice.

i'm not sure what cedric was addressing above about having to re-run credit, unless you were hoping to lock in a rate. as he noted, rates are tied to specific homes; so once a loan is locked in, the change of property would necessitate a new rate (perhaps even a new product).

Hi everybody
By "rollover" i meant extending a preapproval for a new period once it expires.
thanks andre

Blak,

For that, you need to ask the lender. Not all of them may allow.