How do you move from one house to another?

Maybe I spoke too soon! I didn't realize I had "qualified" for the loan, I thought I was approved.

We put in an offer on the house today, so we'll find out if they accept it tomorrow by 3 PM at the latest. However, if it is accepted, then that's when I find out if I can actually get approved or not? Is that how it works?

Because I'm looking at the letter my loan officer sent me, and it just says "congratulations on your pre-qualification".

What the hell is that bullshit? Why not just tell me if I am approved or not? Why am I making an offer on a house if it's not even 100% that I can be approved?

This really grinds my gears!
 
Maybe I spoke too soon! I didn't realize I had "qualified" for the loan, I thought I was approved.

We put in an offer on the house today, so we'll find out if they accept it tomorrow by 3 PM at the latest. However, if it is accepted, then that's when I find out if I can actually get approved or not? Is that how it works?

Because I'm looking at the letter my loan officer sent me, and it just says "congratulations on your pre-qualification".

What the hell is that bullshit? Why not just tell me if I am approved or not? Why am I making an offer on a house if it's not even 100% that I can be approved?

This really grinds my gears!
Where is the house at? AZ?
 
Where is the house at? AZ?

Yes, San Tan Valley, AZ.

I reached out to the loan officer to find out what this "pre-qualification" deal is. I was reading an article that said savvy home buyers shouldn't be making offers unless they are "pre-approved", not "pre-qualified".

Clearly I need to get to the bottom of this, because my realtor didn't seem to say anything about this. Hell, I didn't even know about this until I read an article about it an hour ago.
 
Yes, San Tan Valley, AZ.

I reached out to the loan officer to find out what this "pre-qualification" deal is. I was reading an article that said savvy home buyers shouldn't be making offers unless they are "pre-approved", not "pre-qualified".

Clearly I need to get to the bottom of this, because my realtor didn't seem to say anything about this. Hell, I didn't even know about this until I read an article about it an hour ago.
Your planning a move earlier than you anticipated aren't you? Or was this the plan? If you have 20% down decent credit I’d say you should be good to go.
 
Your planning a move earlier than you anticipated aren't you? Or was this the plan? If you have 20% down decent credit I’d say you should be good to go.

Yes.

I do have 20% down though and decent credit. I'm just saying, the whole pre-qualification versus pre-approved thing is fucking bullshit.
 
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Yes.

I do have 20% down though and decent credit. I'm just saying, the whole pre-qualification versus pre-approved thing is fucking bullshit.

It is, but you must choose the lending institution wisely. Wells Fargo has an easy process for a typical bank, but credit unions are more nimble and flexible these days, as well as small regional Banks since they will fight for your business opposed to someone at Chase or Citibank who could give two craps about you.

I need to catch up on this thread, can't believe I missed it, and you are heading to Zona, like asap.
 
Come this Summer my wife and I are planning to sell our house. We just put 50k into remodeling it, and I don't think we should have any issue selling it at all. It's a very, very nice house, and pretty much the entire thing has been updated. It's a damn fine looking house!

We decided once and for all we are going to be moving to the East Valley area of Phoenix, Arizona. I lived there for a period of my life, and moving away from there is what I always felt to be the biggest mistake of my life.

I'm a bit stumped though, so I'm hoping some of you who have moved before can offer some advice on this matter.

How do we go about doing this? Do we put our house up for sale without another house in mind, then sell it and live in a rental until we find a new house? Or do we find another house, put in an offer contingent upon us selling our house, then sell our house, then move?

I'm just a bit perplexed as to how to go about this. With the new house, I'll have about 300k in cash to put down, and I'll likely end up having to take out a home loan for another 50-75k (since most of the house we are finding are around 350-375k), so if I put in an offer on another house before we sold ours, it would have to be contingent upon us selling our house, and then also contingent upon me getting approved for a home loan for 50-75k (which I have to imagine wouldn't be hard given that I'd have about 300k cash to put down on it).

Just looking for input from others who have done this and what the best way to go about it would be (if there is a "best" way).

Thanks!

I generally like to reduce my risk so if I was in your situation, and I sort of am as my company asked if I wanted to relocate to Florida, I would personally put my house on the market while renting a house in Florida looking for the right town and neighborhood that is best for my family.

There is no rush to buy a house, and why I would be patient while I sell my house and do a 1 year rental while looking for a house.

You are in a different situation since you have previously lived in Arizona, but those are my thoughts to add to the pot.
 
Come this Summer my wife and I are planning to sell our house. We just put 50k into remodeling it, and I don't think we should have any issue selling it at all. It's a very, very nice house, and pretty much the entire thing has been updated. It's a damn fine looking house!

We decided once and for all we are going to be moving to the East Valley area of Phoenix, Arizona. I lived there for a period of my life, and moving away from there is what I always felt to be the biggest mistake of my life.

I'm a bit stumped though, so I'm hoping some of you who have moved before can offer some advice on this matter.

How do we go about doing this? Do we put our house up for sale without another house in mind, then sell it and live in a rental until we find a new house? Or do we find another house, put in an offer contingent upon us selling our house, then sell our house, then move?

I'm just a bit perplexed as to how to go about this. With the new house, I'll have about 300k in cash to put down, and I'll likely end up having to take out a home loan for another 50-75k (since most of the house we are finding are around 350-375k), so if I put in an offer on another house before we sold ours, it would have to be contingent upon us selling our house, and then also contingent upon me getting approved for a home loan for 50-75k (which I have to imagine wouldn't be hard given that I'd have about 300k cash to put down on it).

Just looking for input from others who have done this and what the best way to go about it would be (if there is a "best" way).

Thanks!
Per your last post, most neighborhoods going up already have contractors that own the lots, if you buy property that doesn't, go around to new builds and find one you like and contact them (after you research them!)
That's a great down payment dude! Way to go, just make sure to do only a 15 year mortgage for the difference so you can get that sucker paid off soon, that's what the wife and I just did about a year ago with our new home. (4th house)
 
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pre-qualification is just that...if what info you gave them is what it says it is, you should qualify. Anyway you said they approved you for $700K? so $350 should not be a walk in the park.
What he said, with that kind of down payment of 300k, the remainder will be a cake walk. Pre-qualification always comes before the approval, it's the process it takes. As a seller of a home to someone buying you only look at people with a "pre-approval" letter. Never buy the maximum the bank "qualifies" you for either, but you probably already know this.
 
We put in an offer on the house today, so we'll find out if they accept it tomorrow by 3 PM at the latest. However, if it is accepted, then that's when I find out if I can actually get approved or not? Is that how it works?

Pretty much.

The pre-approval puts the wheels in motion. It shows the seller that you're a serious buyer, not just some random dipshit throwing out numbers to see what'll stick.

By the way: pre-approval and pre-qualification are not totally interchangeable terms, but they generally mean the same thing. For example: some companies might do a credit check, some companies might not.

What the hell is that bullshit? Why not just tell me if I am approved or not? Why am I making an offer on a house if it's not even 100% that I can be approved?

It's not a guarantee that you'll be approved, that's correct. It's more or less the bank protecting itself if something stupid pops up.

Speaking of which, the most important piece of advice I received during this point of the process: don't do any high-dollar purchasing or take out additional loans! You're already asking the bank for an assload of cash. If the bank sees more obligations suddenly start popping up, they can cancel the loan even if it's already been approved — and the entire deal goes up in flames.

This entire process sucks ass, but you'll forget all about it when the pile of paper is signed and your move-in day arrives.

Good luck!

Edit: don't forget to check for a homeowner's exemption to help ease your tax burden at the new place. I'm not sure if they have it where you're heading, but we've got it in Illinois. Figure out what municipality handles your property tax and give 'em a call. They might have other exemptions available to you beyond that. Some of them are automatically renewed, but they have to be applied for in the first place. Don't assume the previous owner took advantage of any available exemptions.
 
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Pretty much.

The pre-approval puts the wheels in motion. It shows the seller that you're a serious buyer, not just some random dipshit throwing out numbers to see what'll stick.

By the way: pre-approval and pre-qualification are not totally interchangeable terms, but they generally mean the same thing. For example: some companies might do a credit check, some companies might not.



It's not a guarantee that you'll be approved, that's correct. It's more or less the bank protecting itself if something stupid pops up.

Speaking of which, the most important piece of advice I received during this point of the process: don't do any high-dollar purchasing or take out additional loans! You're already asking the bank for an assload of cash. If the bank sees more obligations suddenly start popping up, they can cancel the loan even if it's already been approved — and the entire deal goes up in flames.

This entire process sucks ass, but you'll forget all about it when the pile of paper is signed and your move-in day arrives.

Good luck!

Edit: don't forget to check for a homeowner's exemption to help ease your tax burden at the new place. I'm not sure if they have it where you're heading, but we've got it in Illinois. Figure out what municipality handles your property tax and give 'em a call. They might have other exemptions available to you beyond that. Some of them are automatically renewed, but they have to be applied for in the first place. Don't assume the previous owner took advantage of any available exemptions.

Well, they accepted are offer today and the plan is to close in 30 days (which is what my loan officer told me is possible), so I guess we'll find out if they approve me or deny me. I was under the impression the entire time I was approved, but I guess I was just "qualified". Either way, I'll avoid any big purchases or taking out any other loans, so no worries there.

I'm crossing my fingers it goes through, because we really love this house!

Homeowner's exemption? That's something I wasn't even aware of. Hell, I don't even know what that is, but now I'm going to check into it! Thanks for the advice!
 
Well, they accepted are offer today and the plan is to close in 30 days (which is what my loan officer told me is possible), so I guess we'll find out if they approve me or deny me. I was under the impression the entire time I was approved, but I guess I was just "qualified". Either way, I'll avoid any big purchases or taking out any other loans, so no worries there.

I would say that if you've still got a loan officer working with you and no red flags have surfaced yet, you're going to do just fine with getting a loan.

Congratulations on the offer! That's a huge step! Go relish in the listing online being changed from "for sale" to "under contract". :D
 
I went through something similar with my second home loan. I'm pretty sure you'll be fine if pre-approved. Took me till the last few days till I got word of the underwriters accepting it. I ended up having to send a few more documents and writing a letter to explain a job change.

I do remember feeling the same way about my pre-approval. I think it's pretty common that for them to check and double check everything these days since the last housing bust.

Good luck! I hope all goes well with the closing!
 
I would say that if you've still got a loan officer working with you and no red flags have surfaced yet, you're going to do just fine with getting a loan.

Congratulations on the offer! That's a huge step! Go relish in the listing online being changed from "for sale" to "under contract". :D

Yes, the loan officer ran my credit, got my bank statements, tax returns, etc. He mentioned I have very good debt to income ratio and that he didn't see any issues, so hopefully that is enough. We'll see though! My wife is in love with this house, so I'm really hoping it all pans out.

And sure enough, the listing now says it has a pending offer:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/521-E-Rosebud-Dr-San-Tan-Valley-AZ-85143/71689272_zpid/
 
Yes, the loan officer ran my credit, got my bank statements, tax returns, etc. He mentioned I have very good debt to income ratio and that he didn't see any issues, so hopefully that is enough. We'll see though! My wife is in love with this house, so I'm really hoping it all pans out.

And sure enough, the listing now says it has a pending offer:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/521-E-Rosebud-Dr-San-Tan-Valley-AZ-85143/71689272_zpid/
Great open floor plan, love the house, especially the "Oasis" back yard dude.
It's all about Credit Rating and Debt to Income Ratio so it sounds like ya'll are good to go, especially with a down payment like that.
Congratulations, exciting times.
 
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Great open floor plan, love the house, especially the "Oasis" back yard dude.
It's all about Credit Rating and Debt to Income Ratio so it sounds like ya'll are good to go, especially with a down payment like that.
Congratulations, exciting times.

Yep, that backyard is really something cool, I must admit.

I'm crossing my fingers there are no complications, because this is definitely a cool house :)
 
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Damn! that is 1.5 mill here, that pool area would run 250 to put in and those taxes...I need to move. Good luck and enjoy...I don't think you have anything to worry about with the mortgage.
 
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Pretty much.

The pre-approval puts the wheels in motion. It shows the seller that you're a serious buyer, not just some random dipshit throwing out numbers to see what'll stick.

By the way: pre-approval and pre-qualification are not totally interchangeable terms, but they generally mean the same thing. For example: some companies might do a credit check, some companies might not.



It's not a guarantee that you'll be approved, that's correct. It's more or less the bank protecting itself if something stupid pops up.

Speaking of which, the most important piece of advice I received during this point of the process: don't do any high-dollar purchasing or take out additional loans! You're already asking the bank for an assload of cash. If the bank sees more obligations suddenly start popping up, they can cancel the loan even if it's already been approved — and the entire deal goes up in flames.

This entire process sucks ass, but you'll forget all about it when the pile of paper is signed and your move-in day arrives.

Good luck!

Edit: don't forget to check for a homeowner's exemption to help ease your tax burden at the new place. I'm not sure if they have it where you're heading, but we've got it in Illinois. Figure out what municipality handles your property tax and give 'em a call. They might have other exemptions available to you beyond that. Some of them are automatically renewed, but they have to be applied for in the first place. Don't assume the previous owner took advantage of any available exemptions.
Damn! that is 1.5 mill here, that pool area would run 250 to put in and those taxes...I need to move. Good luck and enjoy...I don't think you have anything to worry about with the mortgage.

In my head I said the same thing. Did you see the taxes, less than $2k/year. We need to create and move to Tri-State City, Arizona.
 
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