I get asked a lot how long it takes to get a pre-approval, and unfortunately the answer is, how long is a piece of string?
Firstly congratulations on being one of the few that get a Pre-approval. To a lot of borrowers the Pre-approval feels like an unnecessary step, a time waster but it is anything but!
Having your fully assessed pre-approval in place will not only give you the peace of mind while you’re house hunting but it will also help to show the Vendor and Real Estate Agent how serious you ar. Above all it will mean the 14 day finance clause is met on time with little or no issues.
Some of the things that can slow down your pre-approval;
Not having all your paperwork ready
Depending on your employment type and bank accounts you will need to show all your paperwork when the application is submitted, therefore your application can’t be submitted until it is all in order.
Choosing a hot rate
Everyone wants the best interest rate they can get. Unfortunately, if there’s a lender that has a hot rate you can almost guarantee everyone else is choosing that lender which will mean their turn around times are longer. The beauty of a pre-approval is you can still choose the hot rate and take the extra time to get the pre-approval in place.
Undisclosed debts or credit inquiries
All lenders will want to understand your credit history and they do this by looking into your recent credit enquiries and checking for undisclosed debt in your accounts. I have seen this cause delays when lenders come back to ask an applicant to confirm if the debts are still current and so on. By addressing all these with your Broker before the application is submitted you can save a lot of back and forth.
Bank statements are wrong
Another big one is when a client provides the bank statements however they show the wrong dates or don’t include the name of the account. The lender will need to see the account owners on all statements and in some cases this means sending in an old statement to link the account number with the account owner.
So while there are things you can do to speed up your pre-approval the most important thing is you have one in place before you start house hunting so you know you can buy the properties you’re looking at.
If you want to buy your First Home but have no idea where to start then register for my FREE First Home Buyers Course, it will take you through;
- Why you need to start saving now
- How to calculate the deposit you need
- What you’re personal deposit goal is and more