Why You MUST Be Underwritten To Buy Your Home
Every day we get calls from new buyers who want us to help guide them in buying a house in Gig Harbor. They know our reputation for getting buyers what they want in this HOT market (we love to succeed for our well-prepared buyers!). But it’s not just about the incredible relationships we have with other agents in our community, or our hyper-local market knowledge to help buyers determine what a home is really worth (we will never let you overpay)—we are also honest about what it takes to beat out other offers. Our strategic process is methodical and allows you to be an incredibly prepared buyer.
first step
I am going to assume you’ve read 5 Reasons You MUST Shop For a Local Lender and you are already using a local lender who will be available on a Sunday at 7pm when the listing agent calls to confirm you will make it to the finish line with your financing, because big banks and online lenders won’t be there for you. It would be nice to have those rates, but if you never win a house because you can’t get your offer accepted, you miss out.
So, assuming you have a bad-ass local lender who all the agents trust, we move on…
It’s not enough these days to bring me a solid pre-approval letter from your favorite lender. I am going to ask you directly, “Are you fully underwritten?” Then you will most likely ask, “What does that mean?”
Being fully underwritten for your loan means that your lender has done all the work up front with you to prove that you can purchase your $800,000 dream home.
In a normal market you would fall in love with your new home, write up an offer, and start the loan process, which takes about 14-21 days. In this HOT market we need to be more prepared. Instead of waiting until we are under contract, we give the bank all the documents they will need BEFORE we choose the house (you can still shop during the process). The lender will verify all your funds, credit history, debt-to-income ratios, employment, and any liabilities. We are doing those 14-21 days of work BEFORE we get the offer accepted, so the bank can underwrite your file and give you FULL APPROVAL. This allows you to shop confidently at your price point, and all you need to do is choose the home and get an appraisal. Because this makes you almost like a cash buyer, you can now offer a faster close and peace of mind for the seller that you are a solid financed buyer.
Again, let’s list the ways your offer looks better to the seller if you are FULLY UNDERWRITTEN:
You can close faster (in as few as 10 days!)—all we need is the appraisal.
We can provide them with a letter that says you are fully underwritten and approved, making your offer stand out among the rest.
You are more confident in your financial power and can waive financing if you have to (we never want you to do this, but it is a tactical strategy used in the 2021 and 2022 housing markets).
Getting fully underwritten with a local lender will put you on the same playing field as a cash buyer. You are doing the work up front that you would have done anyway, so you have more leverage against other offers on the table—and it does not affect your credit score to go through the process. Fully underwritten approvals don’t last forever BUT as long as nothing changes it’s a day or two to get your letter “refreshed,” so don’t sweat about starting the process too early. Our goal is for you to never feel the pang of FOMO…so go on and get FULLY UNDERWRITTEN with one of our local lenders. Every single one of them has a cell phone that they answer evenings and weekends—and that type of service is important in a market like this.
Megan Higgs
Hometown Lenders • (360) 731-3464
Ryan Johannes
Movement Mortgage • (425) 681-6475
Petros Christophilis
Cornerstone Lending • (206) 406-4690
If you are ready to get the process started of buying a home in Gig Harbor, we are here to help. Contact us today at (253) 313-4093 or paige@askpaigeschulte.com.
Cheers and Happy House Hunting,
Paige Schulte
Schulte & Co
Neighborhood Experts Real Estate