Am I ok to ask for this?? (for sale, mortgage) - New Jersey (NJ) - City-Data Forum

Jerseyt719 · 11-05-2008, 06:02 AM

As some of you know, I am fsbo for now. It's been a while and now with lending the way it is, I am asking for a preapproval from a mortgage company before showing the house.

Yes, if they say they have it, I'll tell them it's fine and give them an appointment. I don't require to see it first.

Is it ok to ask for this?

I have three children and a 92 year old grandmother I take care of plus I work two jobs. I really don't want to rearrange schedules for tire kickers, thus my reasoning for asking them for a preapproval.

Just need an opinion if this is ok, or am I being difficult....

Thanks!

mandmrossi · 11-05-2008, 06:23 AM

You are most certainly ok with asking for a pre-approval letter. I did the same thing when I had my home FSBO. The same is asked of by a realtor as well, good ones that is. Ask if they be willing, if not and you feel you wish to go ahead, be sure your attorney requests one before your attorney review period.

Regards

Roselvr · 11-05-2008, 06:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerseyt719

As some of you know, I am fsbo for now. It's been a while and now with lending the way it is, I am asking for a preapproval from a mortgage company before showing the house.

Yes, if they say they have it, I'll tell them it's fine and give them an appointment. I don't require to see it first.

Is it ok to ask for this?

I have three children and a 92 year old grandmother I take care of plus I work two jobs. I really don't want to rearrange schedules for tire kickers, thus my reasoning for asking them for a preapproval.

Just need an opinion if this is ok, or am I being difficult....

Thanks!

In this market, I wouldn't.
You're going to be lucky if you have many showings.
Listing with an agent, the market was dead, we were advertised on many sites, still not much traffic.

There are people like me when I was looking that did not have a pre approval letter that would have said, ok, let's move on then. There are so many houses for sale, I don't need to jump through hoops.

I actually turned away a few houses due to one having an emergency.. we couldn't get in, waited an hour, owner still wasn't home and wanted to reschedule, said thanks but no I was done in that area. Too bad, I don't doubt I would have made an offer as it was my favorite model with a bump out. I wasn't sure on the area as it was and in hindsight, glad we didn't move there due to crappy schools.

House 2 we had an appointment and were 5-10 minutes late due to my daughter needing something at school. Owner wouldn't let us in. See ya!

Good luck btw. Selling in this market is stressful.

Jillian Mason · 11-05-2008, 06:41 AM

Whether you are a FSBO or not, a preapproval is always a good thing to ask for

Irish Eyes · 11-05-2008, 10:19 AM

I don't think that's unreasonable at all. I can't imagine someone not wanting that, actually. Unless the agent knows they're serious - good jobs, in the process of selling a house, etc.

MoorestownResident · 11-05-2008, 10:29 AM

I don't recommend it. I sold FSBO last year and never required it, though it was probably easier to get a loan then. You will limit your showings which is not a good thing in this market.

Roselvr · 11-05-2008, 11:02 AM

Let me elaborate..

I think being preapproved in this market also might not mean a thing, especially with so many people not qualifying by the time they get to the table.

With 1st showings I wouldn't be so anal about it. If they have it fine but if not, I'd still let them look.
You never know where your buyer is coming from.

I walked a house that i loved the neighborhood, house was exactly the same as what we were leaving so it wouldn't work. It didn't stop me from talking about it here to someone posting that they were looking for a house in that area.

To the OP.. how are you advertising the house? Will you be on the MLS?

Obrero · 11-05-2008, 11:16 AM

I wouldn't. When were were looking at houses in FL a couple of years back (hot market) some realtors refused to show us a house unless we showed them our preapproval. Please - we just crossed that house off the list and moved on to the next. And that was in a sellers market....

We sold our last house FSBO. I think you have to be way more open and accomodating than if you have your house listed with an agent. I'm talking open houses every weekend etc.....

setancre · 11-05-2008, 02:23 PM

Well I'm not in NJ but I am in the tri-state area, and my folks ended up selling their house for $550k cash last month to someone who was walking down the street and saw the "For Sale" sign and asked if they come in to take a look. My folks had it listed with a broker btw, so this person came independent of their broker. I would say you never know where a buyer is going to come from, sometimes they seem to fall out of the sky, and obviously this person who bought my parents home wouldn't have had pre-approval letter since he didn't need a mortgage. (Backstory - this guy's father owned a Cadillac dealership for eons, so I guess that's why he had all that cash.)

What you might want to do though, to limit the amount of "tire-kickers" is schedule an open house for people who don't have pre-approval. In other words, if you start getting a lot of phone calls, and no one has paperwork, tell them that you scheduled an open house for the following Sunday afternoon and they should feel free to come by at that time. This way you don't have to keep rearranging your family's schedule throughout the week.

JohnVeenstra · 11-05-2008, 05:18 PM

You are correct in asking for a mortgage preapproval. If the person refuses, you may make a decison to let them see the house or not. The situation may depend a little on how fast you need to sell or want to sell. In this market, if you need to sell ASAP, you may not want to scare away potential buyers. The time you REQUIRE a mortgage preapproval is when an offer is made and before you sign any contracts to sell. The problem with a preapproval before an offer is made is that the preapproval may be higher than what they want to offer. If you are selling for $400,000 and they are preapproved for $500,000 but only intend to offer you $350,000, you look at that and say to yourself, Why should I take $350,000 WHEN THEY ARE QUALIFED FOR MORE THAN I AM ASKING.
It is true that Realtors get a mortgage preapproval before showing houses becasue they do not want to waste weeks driving around showing houses for nothing. However, when the Realtor presents the offer on a house, a new preapproval letter is done for the amount offered. That way the seller does not know if they are qualified for more. If counteroffer is higher and accepted, a new preapproval is done at the higher amount