In today's real estate marketplace, bank's and other lenders have tightened their lending standards and made it more difficult to qualify for real estate loans. This makes it more challenging for buyers when competing against multiple offers as we see so often these days.
Buyers can greatly enhance their odds for acceptance and a successful purchase by getting "pre-approved" with a lender as early on in the process as possible - ideally BEFORE even starting the home search process. In addition, many sellers are more impressed when the pre-approval comes from a direct lender - like a major bank, for instance - than when it comes from a smaller, lesser-known company. This is not to say that loan brokers and smaller lenders are not good to work with; all I'm suggesting is that a buyer can appear "better qualified" by working with a well-known lender AND by getting a "pre-approval" (not just a pre-qualification) in advance.
In fact, most sellers won't even consider an offer if a buyer hasn't already been working with a lender. Again, however, a pre-APPROVAL is much better.
Of course, consult with your Realtor on your specific situation, and ask your Realtor to refer you to a strong and reputable lender.
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