What Lenders Are Looking for During Mortgage Pre-Qualification

The mortgage process can be a relatively lengthy one, but one way of helping expedite certain parts of it while also improving your loan readiness is known as pre-qualification. Similar to the pre-approval process, but different and less binding, pre-qualification is a way of helping get a rough idea of how much you can borrow and the kinds of housing price ranges you’ll be able to look at as you move forward.

At Primary Residential Mortgage and the Deb Gontko Klein Team, we’re happy to assist with pre-qualification, pre-approval and numerous other areas of your home loan process as we look to get you the best mortgage rates available. Let’s go over the basic importance of pre-qualification for many borrowers, plus the factor’s lenders will be looking into when you go through this process.

Importance of Pre-Qualification

Pre-qualification, as we noted above, is a quick and simple way to determine which mortgage types and rates you qualify for given your basic financial picture. It’s generally done with a loan officer, but can also even often be done with a bank broker in some cases.

With pre-qualification, unlike the more involved and binding pre-approval process, you do not have to provide your credit score or tax documents, bank statements and other verifiable documents. As such, pre-qualification will return you a basic estimate of the funds you can claim and the income you make, translating this into a broad idea of the mortgages you are likely to qualify for – though to be clear, there is no guarantee that you will qualify for every loan type mentioned. That said, it’s more common than not that the pre-qualification process will yield relatively accurate results.

Primary Factors Lenders Consider

When performing pre-qualification, lenders generally look into these broad areas:

• Income: While credit is important for any loan application, income is also a vital factor to consider. Lenders want to know your per-month or per-year income, allowing them to understand how much you’ll reasonably be able to pay back on a mortgage.
• Assets: In addition to your specific income, lenders will look into other assets that may be part of your portfolio. They’ll consider stock dividends, savings accounts, 401k and other retirement accounts, and any other related types here. This is another factor that helps a lender determine the level of credit they’re comfortable extending you based on your ability to repay, plus the assets to serve as collateral.
• Debt-to-income ratio: Lenders will also look at your current debt levels and compare them to your total income. Generally speaking, you want to be spending under 50% of your monthly earnings on servicing debt responsibilities, an even lower than this will help you qualify for the best loan programs.

For more on why pre-qualification is important and what lenders are looking for, or to learn about any of our mortgage rates or services, please reach out to the Deb Gontko Klein Team today with Primary Residential Mortgage.

*PRMI NMLS 3094. PRMI is an Equal Housing Lender. Some products and services may not be available in all states. Credit and collateral are subject to approval. Terms and conditions apply. Programs, rates, terms, and conditions are subject to change and are subject to borrower(s) qualification. This is not a commitment to lend. Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views of my employer.