What is a Qualified Home Buyer?

Buyers should pre-qualify for a home loan as the first step of their home search.

As Realtors, we’ve often heard potential home buyers say that our ‘job’ is to show them homes, regardless of whether they are qualified to actually buy the home or not.

This is counterproductive for a variety of reasons, for both the potential home buyer and the Realtor, as well as the seller.

Here’s why:

• Sellers put their homes up for sale so they can actually SELL their home, not to open it up to anyone who wants to get in to see it. Buyers who are pre-qualified to buy a home are the only ones who should be granted access, both to minimize inconvenience to the seller and to reduce the risks involved with strangers entering their home.
• As a home buyer, you should be focusing your efforts on homes that you’re qualified to buy. The only way to know this is to get a loan pre-qualification letter from a lender of your choice (preferably a direct lender). This way, you’ll not be falling in love with a home you can’t afford, and you’ll not be wasting your time looking at homes that are out of your price range.
• The assumption that a Realtor is a free home-tour provider is incorrect – Realtors aren’t paid an hourly rate to show homes, they are paid when a home sells.  Therefore, their time is best spent with home buyers who are qualified to buy, rather than looky-loos who want to look at homes without taking the steps to get pre-qualified for a loan.

Home buyers should work closely with their lender and their Realtor to find the best home that they can reasonably afford. This means getting a loan pre-qualification first, and then narrowing the home search to only those homes that are at (or near) that price range. Searching for homes slightly above the pre-qualification amount is advisable, since their could be some price negotiations with the seller that would bring the price down a bit. Searching for homes well above the pre-qualification amount is, quite simply, a waste of time.

Santa Clarita Realtor Linda Slocum is a Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) and Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) specializing in Santa Clarita residential real estate, foreclosures and short sales. You can reach her at 661.670.0349 or at Linda@SantaClaritaRealEstateBlog.com. To search for Santa Clarita homes, use our neighborhood search tools or visit HoneyStartPacking.com.