More than one is good - the seller can not require you to use a specific lender.

The advantage of getting more than one is that the quality of pre-approvals varies from one place to another. I take a full application but with no specific property, some income and asset documentation and submit the loan to FannieMae or GinnieMae for electronic underwriting approval - just like it was a real live loan. This process makes sure that most, if not all areas of concern are discovered early in the process. In any event, more than one preapproval helps develop questions that one loan officer or another may have overlooked.

Mortgage credit pulls are different than most consumer credit inquiries. Multiple mortgage inquiries within a short period of time (usually 2 weeks) count as one inquiry. Even if they counted as 2 or 3 inquiries it shouldn't affect someone with good credit. Some places obtain information from only one credit repository and get it from all three. This usually results in a different, but more accurate score and gives the perception of my credit pull as having had a negative impact.

I hope that this answers your question. Feel free to e-mail or call if you have more.

Tom
Thomas J. Stevens, Loan Officer, Flagstar Bank - financing in 50 states
Thomas.Stevens@Flagstar.com 781-862-0585 x223

Hi Choypoan:

Now a days each FICO check affects your credit adversely by at least 15 - 20 points.
Prudent to ask your Primary lender to get in touch with the Loan Agent at the Bank requesting a
pre approval to send your credit report.

This way they do not run your Credit again.

Good luck,
Perry

http://www.trulia.com/blog/perry_mistry

Most every REO seller will require a Pre-Qualification letter from a specific lender. You need to make sure that you have your most recent pay stub, most recent month of bank statements, and last 2 years of W-2's and Federal Income Tax Returns. You will need to submit this for your Pre-Qualification.

I have serious buyer come to me with all current major lender pre-approved letters. Unless it is a marginal applicants I doubt it makes much dent on one's fico score. I would be more concerned with overbidding with limited funds for downpayments. In that case hire a realtor who is also an appraiser knows the pricing.

Choypoan,
You should get a pre-approval from a direct lender, not a mortgage broker. If you find an REO property that you like and that lender requires a specific pre-approval you can often have them talk to the lender who gave you the original pre-approval. You may find that the bank's lender can give you some incentives for using them, but maybe not. However, even if the bank does not require a specific lender's pre-approval they will require a direct lender, not a mortgage broker, so it is good to have one on hand.

Marcy Moyer
DRE 01191194

A couple of additional points:
REO properties will usually want a Pre-approval (NOT Pre-qualification) from a Direct Lender, NOT a Mortgage Broker. You can use either, but they want the 1st before considering your offer.
Also, you say you have run the Credit Check. Be aware that the Credit Report you will receive is not acceptable to any lender. A mortgage credit report is vastly more complete and will usually give lower scores.

As Tom mentioned, mortgage lenders have a code that identifies them as a mortgage lender to the credit reporting agencies and you can have multiple mortgage lenders access your credit report within a short period of time with only one inquiry generated against your credit score. But it is definately a good idea to get pre-approved by several lenders prior to searching for a property. When I was a mortgage broker, I learned that loan programs (called "products" by lenders) can often change without notice. Several times I qualified buyers only to discover when they came back to me a month or two later with a signed purchase contract, that the loan program had been cancelled or the qualifying requirements had changed - and they no longer had a pre-approval. I learned quickly that I could only protect my clients if I qualified them with several lenders. As a broker, I suggest that potential buyers meet with at least 3 different lenders before looking seriously at properties.

Yes get a preapproval. Often times if you have a good thorough lender that you are working with that lender can speak with the REO specified lender to discuss your qualifications and show the "findings" that were generated so that the REO lender does not need to rerun anything. It is wise to work with a knowledgeable Realtor and Lender these days so you don't run into as many hiccups in the transaction.

All the best,
Pat Chadwell, Broker
Realty World - Residential Specialists
http://patchadwell.com

Choypoan,
I don't think you need to get more than one pre-approval, but you should have all your doc's ready if you are going after only REO'S. After you find out which property you want to write an offer on you'll then know which bank/lender you need to contact to get a new pre-approval, it's not that difficult, just be sure you work with an agent who has done this before so your credit score doesn't get whacked.
If you have any questions feel free to contact me.
At your Service,
Allyson
408-705-6578
allyson@homesbyallyson.com
dre#01397256

Hello Choypoan, in our area, most sellers (banks sellers or regular sellers) will require a preapproval letter from a lender. NOT prequalified, there is a difference. A preapproval is one that the lender has VERIFIED all of your information, financials, debt, income, etc. In addition to a preapproval letter, many sellers ask for proof of funds as well. In other words, bank statements showing where your good faith deposit and mortgage down payment are coming from. A preapproval from one lender is enough, however, if a bank seller wants you to preapprove with them (or their representative) as well, I always handle that with kit glove for my buyers. I call the designated representative to find out exactly what they need to know of my buyer, what documents we must produce and also whether or not they will be running their credit report. They all have different procedures so I handle them on a case by case basis.

Pre Approval really means very little since it is just a lenders basic approval based only on what has been told to them by you. But, it is better than nothing so I always suggest a buyer get a pre approval to go along with an offer.