Can I get more than one mortgage pre-approval?

Question

I'm just starting the home-buying process. Can/should I get multiple pre-approvals from different banks to see who would offer me the "best deal", or do I have to pick one and stick with it. It seems that they can only talk in general terms (which is understandable) until you start the actual loan process, running a credit score check, etc. However, I know that you don't want to check your score too many times in one time period because that will lower your score. So...how do actually know how to choose the mortgage person/bank to go with? I really appreciate any insights or advice...thanks! :-)

Answer 1

I had the same problem and I ended up just going with one because your interest rate depends on you credit so to me one would only be able to offer as low as your credit could allow so they all should be about the same, plus you dont want to p**s of your lender who HAS gotten you pre-approved.

Answer 2

Take copy of your credit report- you can do this on myFICO.com and approach as many lender as you want. Your credit report is a main thing to determinate your ability to obtain the loan. The Pre-Approval is base on the credit report and your loan application without verifying your income and bank info. Make sure to ask for Good Faith Estimate and Truth in Lending and then you can compare different lenders and decide which one is the best, but remember that interest rate change daily so what they offer you today- it is not necessary the case tomorrow.

Answer 3

If you are ready to truly start looking for a home, I would suggest to go with a broker, since they are able to shop for the best deal for you, only taking a look @ your credit once. If you call a bank, they will give you their interest rate, telling everyone the same rate, whoever calls in that day. Remember that they may give you a low rate just to suck you in, but don't be so focused on rate when you should be focused on an approval & if the broker will be able to get your loan done for you & provide customer service that you would expect from a broker. After all, you are hiring them to do a job for you!

Answer 4

most mortgage brokers work with multiple mortgage companies, so they willtry and find the best deal for you - there is no sense working with multiple brokers - if one finds out you are doing that, they may not bother wasting their time with you since they might not get your business

Answer 5

yes you can and i suggest you do....you want the best deal since your going to be stuck with the company for possibly 30 years. although sometimes when you talk to a broker...they'll check several different companies and determine who can give you the best deal.  

Answer 6

A ball park number is good to get you started in the right direction so that you are shopping in your affordable price range.  However, when it comes to sealing the deal shop, shop, and shop for the best interest rate.  Stay away from small mortgage type companies and stick with big name banks especially with the present economy problems.  It is a buyer's market so you should be able to find a great deal.  Do not strap yourself financially, buy within your means.  Remember the other bills involved to maintain a home.  This is why so many people are foreclosing on their homes right now.  

Remember to take into consideration the location of the house - area and a desirable school district is very important.  Think about future resale value.

Hire a home inspector before purchasing.

Good luck and enjoy the process.

Answer 7

I like your idea. You are seeing who is most interested in getting your business.  Let us know how you do. /

Answer 8

it depends...what kidn of shoes are you wearing???

Answer 9

Get 2 or three from reputable banks if you don't qualify for an FHA loan.  When you present an offer that has two pre-approvals from reputable banks that will put your offer up a notch in the sellers eyes.  Someone who is offering 5k more with one approval from a Country Wide/Bank of America isn't a good buyer.  They may get to the closing and have no financing.

Be very sure that you can afford the taxes, insurance and maintenance on the home you wish to buy.

If you are paying 1000k a month rent that does not mean you can afford the same amount in a mortgage.  Just please don't buy beyond your means.

My hubby and I just bought a foreclosed home for 100k less than it is appraised for because these people bought more than they could afford.  We could not afford this home if it wasn't foreclosed on.  It worked out great for us but I feel bad for the family that lost such a great home, even if it was there own mistakes that caused it.  They did not have a bad loan.  They had multiple loans to afford the place and just couldn't keep up.

Good luck!

Answer 10

You can and should shop around.

The credit system is actually set up to allow you to have your credit run several times in a short period for the exact purpose of shopping around, and all of those inquiries show up as a single one on your credit.

From MyFico.com

What to know about "rate shopping."

Looking for a mortgage or an auto loan may cause multiple lenders to request your credit report, even though you’re only looking for one loan. To compensate for this, the score ignores all mortgage and auto inquiries made in the 30 days prior to scoring. So if you find a loan within 30 days, the inquiries won't affect your score while you're rate shopping. In addition, the score looks on your credit report for auto or mortgage inquiries older than 30 days. If it finds some, it counts all those inquiries that fall in a typical shopping period as just one inquiry when determining your score. For FICO scores calculated from older versions of the scoring formula, this shopping period is any 14 day span. For FICO scores calculated from the newest versions of the scoring formula, this shopping period is any 45 day span. Each lender chooses which version of the FICO scoring formula it wants the credit reporting agency to use to calculate your FICO score.