I agree with other agents just to wonder around at open house. It is your chance to view the general condition. You can also talk to agents and work with the one you feel comfortable with. You will be surprised competent agents are not what you feared.

BTW: Sunday May 30 1:30-4:30 PM
741 Charmain Dr, Campbell, CA is open to the public.

Hi Munjal, There is a limit to the number of inquiries made on your credit report before it has an affect. I understand that up to 3 inquiries will not adjust your score with any of the reporting agencies. In your current situation one should work well for you. Your most recent comment will change most of the professional comments below, I'll bet.

My suggestion would be to contact a lender and ask what options you may have. Could they consider your future income as basis for a future pre-approval? Of Course! They should be willing to help from a community building perspective. There is the possibility you will agree that waiting is the best way to go. I think you are excited to buy and there is nothing wrong with that. I have shopped for things before I could afford them. I returned and bought them when I could afford them and usually from the same person who helped me earlier. Your lender inquiry may build a relationship you will need in the very near future.

The difference in shopping for Real Estate is that it is much more organic and changes rapidly, agents are busy and often, buyers change their targeted market. If you do shop....remember...you are shopping and don't be disappointed if you find a home that you want NOW! You will certainly learn where you stand.


Michael
http://www.MichaelRobertsHomes.com

You ask a fair question Munjal.

Seeing that your situation may change shortly, you just want to see property to get a feeling for the style of home and neighborhood. I can totally understand this. I'm sure you'll find an agent who will understand your situation, talk over your soon to be new financial situation and will take you out to see properties based on those ballpark criteria.

But, why is it important be pre-approved? As many have mentioned, time = money. This is true for both you and the agent. If you do not know what you realistically can afford, then you will just be spinning your wheels. So, I just wanted you to see why it's important to be pre-qualified before you start your search.

Hope this helps.

Good luck to you.

Rudy
Social Media Guru at Trulia.com

The problem with pre-approval at the moment is this. I am currently finishing up school and graduating in less than a month. I already have a job lined up after graduation and will be starting in just a little while. I will be co-buying this house with my mom as a short-term living situation and probably a long-term investment.

Therefore, from what I know, pre-approval will show two very different numbers when we add my extra salary in after my first few paychecks.

My next question is if I get pre-approved several times back to back over the coming months, does that hurt my credit score?

And what will you do when one of the houses seems like just what you are looking for?

Another buyer with a pre-approval will get it. And you'll spend a lot more time after you learn from that experience trying to find a house as nice as the one you missed. All the way around it is a recipe for disappointment and a waste of time.

Mark Burns
Coldwell Banker Premier

Why the reluctance to get pre-approved? It sounds like you are planning to buy a home. If so, get pre-approved. If you just want to 'look' at houses, you are wasting the time of a professional. Realtors are not on salary (actually a few are but they won't show you around either without a pre-approval). You take away the time an agent could be spending with a buyer who has gone to the effort of getting pre-approved. Professional experienced agents will say no. Those that say yes hope and pray you will like them and the houses you see enough to go and get your pre-approval and buy with them. They will be disappointed. And you'll end up with a lower quality agent thus further compounding your confusion as to whether to buy or not.

There is a lot of value in following the rules. You'll get much better results in the hands of a pro instead of bucking the system with a willing amateur.

There are plenty of Open Houses to wander through and I would suspect most of the homes on your list will be open Saturday and/or Sunday. But that isn't the real problem. It's committing to the process. A decision you have to make. The question you have to ask yourself, "Am I serious enough about buying a home to follow all the rules or am I just curious?" You have to get to the former because the latter wastes time, money, gas, etc., etc.

Mark Burns
Coldwell Banker Premier

Preapproval is not a pressure situation. You are not commited to using the lender who gives you a preapproval. As realtors, we have given the sellers our word that we will not show unqualified buyers into their homes. There are those who do but they are not conducting their business according to national and local standards. If you don't want to be tied to a realtor for the traditional six month term, you can always ask to sign a buyer's agency agreement for the day only.

Munjal,

being myself a first time buyer, let me give 2 things most realtors will not agree with:
1. never sign any contract with an agent. you can only hurt yourself. a smart agent will never be afraid of you deserting him/her
2. you absolutely don't need to pre-approved. tens of agents will be readyo to show you around. just post a message and many of the agents (who asked u to get pre-approved first) will line up

Dear Munjal,
Andrea has summed it up well. Pre-approval in hand gives YOU the Buyer a clear idea of what your upper $$ limit is and comfort zone in your monthly payments. Also, if you only want to go look at the areas/neighborhoods, and homes you can drive by yourself.....look at the streets, yards - how tidy are they? the roofs and cars in the streets, the schools attached to the homes.....there are so many factors involved in buying a home.
The best way to buy is to sit down with a Realtor, both you and your wife together, and talk the home buying process through. Then when all have somewhat defined your personal needs, and have identified your price point, go out together and see appropriate properties that suit YOUR famiy needs.
If its only 4-5 homes, and you want to go look, I can show you the homes on Sunday morning, but would need to check on showing instructions for all. Call or email me your list, with your contact information, and i can check them out for you.......After that we can both decide whether we want to continue working with each other. I just got a home for a client in the Willow Glen area.

Check out my website and testimonials. Be well and safe, regards,
Nina Daruwalla

M
I will not work with a buyer that is not pre-approved. My time is too valuable.

BTW, we also use a buyer=broker agreement so we are all on the same page. You do not pay a buyer's agent, they are compensated until escrow closes.

Do you think that professional negotiating skills will enhance the value of the transaction?

If a Realtor is willing to give his time away, how well will they negotiate for you?

Hi Munjal, I agree with Andrea's remarks....I bet you already did most of your homework and have a pretty good idea what your price range is right? 4-5 properties in Campbell/Willow Glen/Cambrian will take appx. 1-2 hours to view if you are simply viewing. If I were to help you on Saturday, I would also spend that time to consult with you to learn more about what expectations you will have. The "no obligation " idea is a good one...for both parties!

24 hour notice is customary to allow the home sellers to prepare and for your Realtor to arrange the schedule....usually adding one or two you may not have noticed too.

Your broad search area will require you also consider school districts, there are four, and knowing which one the neighborhood school is in, will allow you to apply a value.

Michael
http://www.MichaelRobertsHomes.com

My personal rule is that if a new client is willing to give me an hour of their time I can easilly assess whether they will be able to qualify and am happy to help them start their search.
Bill

Dear Munjal, house shopping without a pre-approval letter is similar to "window" shopping, or shopping without money nor a credit card. Those who won't get pre-approved by a lender may not be considered "serious" buyers, by either psychological or financial means. Now, if you are a "serious" buyer and you fall in love with a house that you see and want to make an offer, you will not be able to do that as all sellers in today's market require a pre-approval letter from a lender, and sometimes from a direct lender (bank approval) not a letter from a mortgage broker or Realtor who also does loans. To that end, it's not so much that the Realtors want the preapproval letter but the sellers do also. The preapproval letter also tells you what price range to look in. Your credit score, down payment, income, debts, assets, etc. all has to be analyzed to determine how much money a bank will lend you and at what interest rate. All these factors determine what your monthly mortgage payment will be. You don't want to fall in love with a $700k home only to find out the maximum you want to spend on a mortgage payment is for a $500k house. It just makes good sense to get pre-approved before your go shopping for a myriad of reasons. Email me your list of the 4-5 houses you want to see and I'll look up the showing instructions. You can email me from my website below.

So get a pre-approval. It's free, it's easy, you won't be obligated to anyone, it won't ding your credit, and then every Realtor will love you!