Pre-qualification gives you an estimate of how much you can borrow based on unverified, self-reported financial info. Pre-approval is a formal verification of your credit score, tax returns, and bank statements by a lender—giving you a firm budget and making your offer significantly stronger to property sellers.

No, our loan advisory services come at no added cost to home buyers. We work directly with our network of lender partners who compensate us for facilitating loan originations, allowing you to get expert guidance and competitive loan rates for free.

While 20% down payment is ideal to avoid paying Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI), many standard loan programs allow buyers to put down as little as 3% to 5%. Government-backed loans like FHA require 3.5%, and VA or USDA loans can even offer 0% down for eligible buyers.

On average, processing and closing a home loan takes 30 to 45 days after your offer on a property is accepted. However, getting pre-approved before starting your home search can shorten this timeline by up to 2 weeks.

Typically, lenders will request proof of identity (driver's license or passport), recent pay stubs (last 30 days), W-2 forms or tax returns from the past two years, bank account statements (last 2-3 months), and proof of any additional assets or investment accounts.