In this blog, we will discuss and cover if you can get pre-approved in one hour on a home mortgage. The qualification and pre-approval step of the mortgage process is the most important step. One of the major reasons for stress during the mortgage process or a last-minute mortgage denial is due to the loan officer issuing a pre-approval letter prior to properly qualifying the borrower. Loan officers should not be issuing a pre-approval letter without properly qualifying borrowers. The loan officer needs to take the mortgage loan application (1003), run a tri-merger credit report, collect mortgage documents, and run the borrower through the automated underwriting system (AUS) during the mortgage qualification step.

The Importance of Loan Officers to Properly Qualify Borrowers

The loan officer should thoroughly review the borrower’s tri-merger credit report. One of the biggest mistakes loan officers make is not looking out for outstanding credit disputes. Credit disputes are not allowed during the mortgage process unless the credit dispute is exempt from retraction. Any pre-approval issued with outstanding credit disputes that are not exempt is null and void. We will discuss and cover credit disputes in later paragraphs. So, the answer to the question of Can You Get Pre-Approved In One Hour On A Home Mortgage is YES. However, the borrower’s cooperation is necessary. Gustan Cho Associates is a mortgage company licensed in multiple states.

Working With Gustan Cho Associates To Get Qualified and Pre-Approved

Gustan Cho Associates are mortgage bankers, correspondent lenders, and have the ability to broker mortgage loans with wholesale non-QM lenders. Gustan Cho Associates has a national reputation for not having any lender overlays on government and conventional loans. The bottom line is a pre-approval letter should never be rushed and issued without the loan officer properly qualifying the borrower.

Can You Get Pre-Approved In One Hour On A Home Mortgage: Quality Versus Speed

Loan officers, homebuyers, home sellers, real estate agents should all realize the importance of a solid qualified pre-approval versus a pre-qualification letter. One of the biggest reasons why there is stress during the mortgage process is that a loan officer issued a pre-approval letter without properly qualifying the borrowers. This is also one of the biggest reasons for a last-minute mortgage denial by mortgage underwriters. Pre-approval letters can be issued by loan officers in less than an hour. However, the loan officer needs to diligently thoroughly review every aspect of qualifying borrowers prior to issuing a pre-approval letter.

Careful Analysis By Loan Officer Prior to Issuance of Pre-Approval Letter

It is better for a loan officer to carefully review the loan application, credit report, and AUS Findings and properly qualify the borrowers before even thinking about issuing a pre-approval letter. A pre-approval should never be issued without the loan officer running a tri-merger credit report. The tri-merger credit report needs to be carefully reviewed as to the accuracy of its content.

The Importance Of Reviewing The Tri-Merger Credit Report During The Mortgage Process

Lenders use the middle credit score of borrowers as the qualifying credit score. However, just because a borrower has a high credit score does not mean everything is good with the loan applicant. One of the biggest mistakes loan officers make is not thoroughly reviewing the borrower’s credit report. The need to carefully analyze and review the line item per line item. They need to check for credit disputes. Unless the credit dispute is an exempt credit dispute, all disputes need to be removed prior to and/or during the mortgage process.

Credit Disputes During The Mortgage Process

Any pre-approval letter issued with outstanding credit disputes is null and voided. Loan officers should thoroughly interview borrowers when reviewing the credit report. Not all credit items report on credit bureaus. Ask the borrower if they have any public records they have outstanding that are not reporting on the tri-merger credit report. All public records will get discovered when the lender does a national third-party records search.

Look For Accuracy On Credit Report

The loan officer should carefully review the tri-merger credit report and discuss with the borrower the accuracy:

• Loan officers should carefully interview the borrower and question them about any public records not showing up on the credit report
• Public records such as bankruptcies, foreclosure, judgments, and tax liens sometimes do not report on credit reports
• However, all public records will get discovered when lenders do a third-party national public records search
• Loan officers need to go over line item per line item of the borrower’s credit reports and look over to see whether there are credit disputes
• You cannot have credit disputes during the mortgage process unless they are non-exempt credit disputes
• We will cover what needs to be reviewed and focused on when a loan officer issues a pre-approval letter

There is no reason why a borrower should not close a mortgage loan if they were properly qualified and pre-approved by a loan officer. The mortgage loan should not just close, but should close on time.

Can You Get Pre-Approved In One Hour On A Home Mortgage: How Soon Can I Start Shopping For A Home

The minute you have been issued a solid pre-approval letter, you can start shopping for a mortgage and enter into a home purchase real estate contract. The very first step of your home buying journey is getting qualified and pre-approved for a mortgage. A mortgage pre-approval is when the loan officer has gone over your mortgage loan application (1003), run a tri-merger credit report, went over your gross income and all of your monthly debt, verified your assets and made a determination, and sees you fully qualify for a mortgage loan.

Automated Underwriting System Findings

The loan officer ran your file to the automated underwriting system (AUS) and has an approve/eligible per automated underwriting system mortgage loan approval per AUS. Borrowers do not need to be present to get qualified and pre-approved. It can be done over the phone or via the internet. There are no fees and/or costs involved in getting pre-approved. In the event, that you do not currently qualify for a mortgage, your loan officer will work closely with you in getting you qualified.

Reasons Why Borrowers Cannot Qualify For A Mortgage Today But Can In A Few Months

The top reasons for borrowers not qualifying for a loan today but will in several months are the following:

• They do not have the minimum credit score requirements
• For example, to qualify for a 3.5% down payment home purchase FHA loan, you need a 580 credit score
• You need a 620 credit score to qualify for a conventional loan
• You normally need 12 months of timely payments in the past 12 months to get approve/eligible per the automated underwriting system
• Gustan Cho Associates has some quick tricks of the trade on helping borrowers boost their credit scores
• There is nothing anyone can do with late payments in the past 12 months

Lenders and the AUS want to see timely payments in the past 12 months to approve a mortgage borrower. It is okay to have outstanding collections and/or charged-off accounts but lenders want to see timely payments in the past 12 months.