If you are a first time home buyer in New Jersey looking to convert yourself from online Zillow searches to actively understanding what steps to take in order to get your dream home, knowing your budget is the first step.
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Before you can even submit an offer you have to be pre-approved. This time could make the difference between buying the house you love and not even getting a chance to put an offer in .
Even if you get pre-approved the next day you are at the disadvantage to someone who got pre-approved at the start. A pre-approval shows the sellers that you are serious about buying their house and that you have already been prescreened by a lender.
AND
It’s FREE!!!!! No obligation!!!!!!! Saves you time!!!!
What’s my budget?
Your budget is the cornerstone of your search. Whether you get pre approved at
$200,000, $600,000, or $2.2 Million that number will drastically change what you can afford realistically in the towns that you are looking in.
I have worked with buyers that were originally interested in purchasing a single family home in Madison, New Jersey but when they got pre approved at $600,000 I knew the Madison market commanded a higher price. With this in mind I found them another town with good schools, a train line, and a downtown feel that allowed us to fit in with their budget. We began looking in Basking Ridge and Bridgewater and ended up finding them the perfect fit in Basking Ridge!

Looking to learn more about buying a house?
Where to start?
Most often than not, it’s an online application that your lender is going to send you to fill out in the privacy of your own home or on your cell phone even. Once the lender receives the application, they run it through their system and will call you to have a discussion about where you land.
They will be able to provide advice to help you improve your numbers by paying off a low balance credit card, or paying down a student debt to this portion that might help you increase your number.
Credit Score Impact
It is going to pull your credit. It is going to make sure you are a qualified borrower. It is going to slightly affect your credit score.
THE REALITY – Your score is only going to be affected by a couple of points. Credit scores generally recover within a month.
Unless you go out tomorrow and buy a car, or a boat, or a plane and you need credit for it. It really isn’t going to impact your life at all, because your credit is going to recover by the time you actually need it to buy that house or anything in the future.
Recommendations
Mortgage Broker VS Large Banks GRAPHIC
Brokers
- Local New Jersey Brokers work tirelessly, always answering calls and being there for you every step of the way. Paid commision so they are completely invested in making sure you get service!
- Shop multiple rates at multiple places to make sure you get the lowest rate.
Bank
- Bank employees are generally paid a Salary, and maybe have some small commision incentives.
- Just going to give you their bank’s rate which is standardized and ridgid.
When you use one of my recommendations or referrals
These are people that I have business relationships with, that if I need to get on the phone with them and make something happen it lets me do that FOR YOU to make sure you are getting that great service and making sure you’re closing on time.
If you would like any recommendations or if you have any questions about getting preapproved, you can always reach out to me!
Contact Info:
Robert Webb
908 460-4996