Redfin

JULY 31, 2025

Key Takeaways: Mortgage pre-approval involves a hard credit inquiry, which may lower your score slightly. Multiple pre-approvals within a 14-45 day window count as one inquiry for scoring purposes. When you’re preparing to buy a home, one of the first steps you’ll likely take is getting pre-approved for a mortgage.

Pre-approval

BAM Media

JULY 16, 2025

BuyAbility: Zillow’s Affordability Tool Gets an Upgrade BuyAbility , powered by Zillow Home Loans, gives shoppers a personalized look at what they can afford based on income, debts, credit score, and down payment. Listings are labeled to show whether a home falls within a user’s BuyAbility range Over 1.5

Pre-qualification

The Mortgage Report

JUNE 10, 2025

Buy a Home Home-Buying Loan Types Low Down Payment Mortgages Conventional Loans VA Loans FHA Loans FHA 203k Rehab Loan USDA Loans Investment Property Mortgages Compare Home Buying Loans Home Buying Help Do I Need 20% Down? Or you can’t get the type of loan you want. How Much Home Can I Afford?

FHA 203k rehab loan

The Close

APRIL 3, 2025

When you need to finance a house flip, you need a loan that offers a repayment term that fits your project timeline, can close quickly, and, of course, doesnt have unrealistic eligibility requirements. Unlike most types of fix and flip loans, it has no application fee, doesnt require an appraisal, and doesnt require income verification.

Loans

Redfin

JUNE 13, 2025

Step 3: Research second-time homebuyer programs and loans Step 4: Work with an experienced agent Step 5: Make a strong offer as a second-time homebuyer Step 6: Plan your transition Second-time homebuyer FAQs Is it harder to buy a house the second time? If your finances have improved, you might even qualify for a larger loan or better terms.

Debt-to-income ratio

Redfin

JULY 30, 2025

Key takeaways: First-time homebuyer: Anyone who hasn’t owned a primary residence in the past three years Common first-time homebuyer qualifications: Credit score, debt-to-income ratio, down payment, income limits, employment history, purchase limits, homebuyer education Buying your first home? Let’s get started.

Debt-to-income ratio

Redfin

JULY 9, 2025

Getting pre-approved for a mortgage is one of the first steps in the homebuying journey. But if you’re ready to start shopping for a home, you might be wondering: how long does it take to get pre-approved for a mortgage? What is mortgage pre-approval? How long does it take to get pre-approved for a mortgage?

Pre-approval

Redfin

JULY 30, 2025

Most homebuyers will need to think ahead about the following costs when estimating how much money is needed to purchase a home: Down payment: The down payment is a percentage of the home’s purchase price, anywhere from 0% to 20% depending on your loan. Several loan options, such as FHA or VA loans, only require a down payment of 3.5%

Pre-approval

The Mortgage Report

JULY 7, 2025

Buy a Home Home-Buying Loan Types Low Down Payment Mortgages Conventional Loans VA Loans FHA Loans FHA 203k Rehab Loan USDA Loans Investment Property Mortgages Compare Home Buying Loans Home Buying Help Do I Need 20% Down? Check your home equity loan options. How Much Home Can I Afford?

Equity

The Close

JULY 28, 2025

You see, portfolio lenders retain loans in-house so they don’t have to worry about third-party requirements. All of that makes sense, as browsing through Kiavi’s catalog of loan products, I also got the sense that it would be quite simple to get funding.

Pre-qualification

Marco Santarelli

JUNE 28, 2025

If you're considering taking out a mortgage or refinancing your current home loan, knowing these updated rates will help you make informed financial decisions. It's essential to factor in that for larger loan amounts, many lenders may require a larger down payment or stricter qualification criteria.

Mortgages

Rochester Real Estate

NOVEMBER 5, 2015

Factors such as earnest money deposits, loan approvals, and real estate agent involvement should be considered. Begin by confirming your loan approval and securing a complete and documented pre-approval from your lender. This includes considering financial stability, loan pre-approval, and contingencies.

Earnest money deposit

Redfin

JULY 31, 2025

Look into first-time homebuyer benefits Many programs are designed to make homeownership more accessible for first-time buyers by reducing upfront costs, lowering monthly payments, and helping with mortgage qualification. State and local programs: Cities and states may offer down payment assistance, forgivable loans, or closing cost help.

Purchase and sale agreement

Rochester Real Estate

NOVEMBER 5, 2015

It’s unfortunate, but not every prospective buyer is going to be able to qualify for a home loan. In the simplest terms the main difference is that a bank has its own lending criteria and offers loans by using its own funds. Have you tried calling a bank on a Saturday night to get a pre-approval letter?

Finance

Redfin

MARCH 4, 2025

Key takeaways You can use your 401(k) to buy a home with a 401(k) loan or withdrawal. A 401(k) loan allows you to borrow the money without penalty, but you need to repay it. The difference between these two accounts is that traditional 401(k) contributions are pre-tax, so youll be taxed once taking them out. What is a 401(k)?

Debt-to-income ratio

Marco Santarelli

MARCH 23, 2025

Rate Variations: Understand how rates vary by loan type and borrower eligibility. Here's a breakdown of the estimated monthly payments based on various loan amounts at these current average rates. Pre-approval: Before looking at homes, you should get pre-approved for a mortgage.

Mortgages

Redfin

JULY 7, 2025

Get clear pre-approval: Make sure your mortgage pre-approval reflects your current debts, legal obligations, and post-divorce income so you know what you can truly afford. Your current mortgage, joint debts, and ongoing legal expenses can affect your ability to qualify for a new loan and manage monthly payments.

Debt-to-income ratio

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 11, 2024

Pre-screened credit card offers to consumers fall under this definition, CHLA explained, but the application and relevance to the mortgage business is more limited, it argues. Lenders do not receive this data in the trigger lead process.

Debt-to-income ratio

Housing Wire

MAY 7, 2025

She was a responsible borrower but made a mistake: she had lost track of her student loan payments and was 60 days late. The client, who logged into her student loan portal and made a payment, is now in limbo about whether a new credit report needs to be pulled in her 90-day escrow, the loan officer at Guild Mortgage told HousingWire.

Loans

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 28, 2023

In his 20 years in mortgage banking, no year has compared to 2023 in terms of difficulty, said Ben Cohen, Guaranteed Rate ’s managing director and a top-producing loan officer. It was another brutal year, pushing loan originators to work longer hours, close loans faster while diversifying their mortgage product offerings.

Loans

Housing Wire

MARCH 30, 2021

It’s no secret credit scores can hinder a potential borrower’s ability to qualify for the best loan program, which can ultimately lead to poor borrower satisfaction. Borrowers don’t always know or understand how their credit or debt-to-income ratio (DTI) impacts the type of loan they can qualify for. Or, give up looking altogether.

Pre-qualification

Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 6, 2023

The program was launched in October 2022 to provide brokers $10 single-bureau soft credit checks for conventional loans. But the Pontiac-based lender expanded Safe Check to government and jumbo loans, it announced Wednesday. In January 2023, it expanded to offer a three-bureau soft check for $23.

Pre-qualification

Housing Wire

MAY 14, 2024

The company said it will be using generative artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies to provide customers with personalized recommendations, credit management solutions, budgeting assistance and loan qualification tools. million in pre-seed funding in 2016.

Pre-qualification

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 14, 2024

Soft credit pulls are a critical tool that our member mortgage loan originators use to work with underserved borrowers — particularly borrowers with credit blemishes — to improve their credit score and ultimately obtain a pre-qualification or an actual mortgage loan,” the CHLA wrote in a letter to the three credit bureaus on Wednesday.

Pre-qualification

Windemere Buying

MARCH 1, 2023

Before you begin your home buying journey , it’s helpful to know about pre-approval, pre-qualification, and proof of funds, and the role they play in a real estate transaction. Homeownership Terms to Know: Rent-Back Agreement, Joint Tenancy & More Pre-Qualification and Pre-Approval What is pre-qualification?

Pre-qualification

Housing Wire

JANUARY 18, 2022

” Per the company’s website , it takes five minutes to receive a pre-qualification for a mortgage, though final approval is conditional on finishing the application and providing supporting documents. Milo said that it has originated millions of dollars in loans and has had applicants from over 63 countries. “As

Mortgages

Housing Wire

JULY 11, 2022

I do think a primary issue that has come up over these years is that non-QM borrowers and non-QM loans, they’re not the subprime of the pre-financial crisis,” he said. This is because they’re the ones that are going to be doing the pre-qualifications for you.

Lending

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

Successful agents, brokerages and loan officers of the future are going to rely significantly on technology to find, nurture and engage with buyers and sellers while also playing an expanding role as personal advisors in all things related to mortgage, insurance, moving, renovating and new home transitioning.

Pre-qualification

Keeping Current Matters

AUGUST 27, 2020

You may have heard that pre-approval is a great first step in the homebuying process. So, before you start shopping around, it’s helpful to know your price range, what you’re comfortable within a monthly mortgage payment, and ultimately how much money you can borrow for your loan. Pre-approval from a lender is the only way to do this.

Pre-approval

Housing Wire

JULY 5, 2023

. “We hope that your introduction of this bill will lead to more rigorous debate in Congress and among federal regulators regarding the best solution to combat abusive trigger leads when a credit report is pulled in order to obtain a mortgage loan pre-qualification or a mortgage loan.”

Pre-qualification

Housing Wire

JULY 30, 2021

Josh Lehr: Pre-pandemic, online home buying existed, but over the last year, shopping online for mortgages became much more popular and convenient as meeting in person with a loan officer was not an option. HousingWire: How have trends around direct-to-consumer lending changed over the past year?

Pre-qualification

Keeping Current Matters

JUNE 22, 2021

You may have been told that it’s important to get pre-approved at the beginning of the homebuying process, but what does that really mean, and why is it so important? Pre-approval from a lender is the only way to know your true price range and how much money you can borrow for your loan. Bottom Line.

Pre-approval

HomeLight

JUNE 19, 2023

Like pre-qualification or pre-approval. Let’s lay it all out: How pre-qualifications and pre-approvals are similar Pre-qualifications and pre-approvals have a few things in common. They both estimate the size of the home loan you can expect to get. What’s a pre-approval?

Pre-qualification

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 28, 2022

JPMorgan Chase will soon be issuing its first non-prime MBS secured exclusively by investor loans that are underwritten based on rental income. JPMorgan Mortgage Trust 2022-DSC1 is secured by 980 debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) loans with a balance of $308.2 million, according to a Kroll Bond Rating Agency presale report.

Pre-qualification

Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 19, 2024

Simultaneously, I have heard this common refrain from eager homebuyers: “I qualify for an FHA (or VA ) home loan, but I’m having a hard time getting my offer accepted by a home seller. The talk of this election season has rightfully been on affordable housing. Have you ever heard that before or some variation? We can change this.

Pre-qualification

Realtor.com

NOVEMBER 28, 2022

designer491/Shutterstock What is a pre-qualification letter? I tell most people they can take that pre-qualification letter and throw it in the trash,” says Patty Arvielo , a mortgage banker and president and founder of New American Funding, in Tustin, CA. What to know about a pre-qualification letter.

Pre-qualification

Housing Wire

JULY 4, 2024

It may mean drilling down and familiarizing yourself, and your potential clients, with the ins and outs of credit repair, loan pre-qualification and pre-approval, and even basic personal finance and budgeting. By embracing new ways of thinking and running our businesses, we can help clients achieve their dreams.

Pre-qualification