How do you stand out from the crowd if you don’t have a cash offer for a home?
The Churchill Certified Home Buyer program positions you almost as if you’re a cash buyer, giving you an advantage when the competition is high. Not only does this help you shop for your new home with more confidence, but we’re finding that offers from Certified Home Buyers are getting accepted more quickly than other buyers. Unfortunately, a standard pre-approval provides a false sense of security and just isn’t good enough anymore.
With the housing inventory remaining low, there’s simply no better way to guarantee you’re taking the right steps to help get you to the closing table faster. Mortgage lingo can be confusing, so here’s what you need to know about your three main options when it comes to securing a home loan:
OPTION 1 (Good)
- Pre-Qualification: Any loan officer can say you are “pre-qualified.” A pre-qualification is based on information you provide, not a verification of your income and assets. While this may seem like the quickest and easiest option, you’re not actually approved for financing. This is a big problem if you’ve invested weeks or even months of your time and effort finding the right home and it’s sold from underneath you while you’re trying to get your loan approved.
OPTION 2 (Better)
- Standard Pre-Approval: This option takes a little more time than a pre-qualification since you’ll need to submit financial documents to your lender for review. A standard pre-approval can help you determine how much you can afford before you start looking for a house but it doesn’t mean a mortgage underwriter has reviewed your file, resulting in a less reliable approval.
OPTION 3* (Your BEST Option!)
- Churchill Certified Home Buyer: You’ve submitted your financial documents to be reviewed by an actual underwriter and you’re conditionally approved for financing on a new home, subject to the approval of your desired property. A bulk of the leg work is done up front, making the home buying process quick and smooth once you’ve found the right home. This gives both you and the seller of the home you wish to purchase peace of mind that your funds will be approved when it’s time to sign on the dotted line. Going through this process up front helps catch many of the hiccups early on and prevents any issues from arising at the last minute. This is your best option, especially when the competition is high.
Nationwide, the real estate market is still hot, so it’s important to make sure you get the gold-standard of pre-approvals and become a Churchill Certified Home Buyer today. This unique point of difference will help set you apart from other house hunters.
Need more information or want to get certified? Click here to request a call from a Home Loan Specialist in your area.
The Churchill Certified Home Buyer program is not a commitment to lend funds and is not an approval but is a conditional approval subject to your acceptance of the terms and the conditions being fully satisfied prior to closing. All conditions are subject to final underwriting and final investor approval. The certification is subject to the financial status and credit report(s) of everyone on the application remaining substantially the same until closing, an acceptable contract of sale on a suitable property, collateral (the appraisal, title, survey, condition, and insurance) satisfies the requirements of the lender and loan selected is still available in the market. All closing conditions of the lender must be satisfied including the clear transfer of the title, acceptable and adequate title and hazard insurance, flood certification, and any inspections that are required by the real estate contract.