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10 Easy Steps to Home Ownership

5. Get the Application Approved

Having found the best possible deal, it's time to find out if your lender of choice wants you as badly as you want them! Find out exactly what hoops you are required to jump through in order to get home loan approval and ensure that you have the required documentation.

Procedures vary from lender to lender but it is likely you will be issued with either a 'home loan guarantee certificate' or a 'pre-approval certificate'. These are very handy pieces of paper that says that (subject to a few conditions) your home loan either has been, or will be approved when you have found the property you want to purchase. One of the typical conditions attached to these certificates is 'subject to valuation' which makes sense - if you pay way too much for a home, you're likely to scare your lender and they won't advance you the cash.

Loan approvals don't last forever, and are typically from two to four months. If you find your pre-approval has expired or is about to, contact the lender and see if it can be extended of if you have to re-apply.

Our Comments

It is human nature to want to buy the best house that is available to you in your price range, that usually means that people want to borrow up to their maximum limit and sometimes beyond. Of course borrowing at your maximum limit is the loan that is the hardest to get approved. Therefore, it is very important to present the application to the lending institution complete and in the manner in which they expect to see it. This eliminates much frustrating time going back and forth but also improves the chances of getting it approved. You have to remember that the credit officers in the banks are only human and therefore making a good first impression is very important.
As independent mortgage brokers we are trained, by the lending institutions, in loan preparation and presentation. Secondly this is what we do for a living and therefore we do it every day.

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