Very Special Thread Of Real Estate Randomness

[Gayla]

Originally Posted by betenoire

Thanks, Gayla. I'll be doing that as soon as I find out what's going on with this overnight position that I'm after. I do know that one of my part-time coworkers who averages about 20 hours a week got pre-approved for 130k, and that even now as a part-timer I work more than she does so I can expect around/at least the same amount as my limit. BUT I also know that I don't want to spend nearly much - I'm aiming for under 110k.

It's fairly common, at least here, for a preapproval amount to be higher than what you actually want to spend. The mortgage person can also help you figure out a price range that will keep payments where you want them and things like that.

One question I get quite often is about preapproval letters. It's become fairly standard to ask that a preapproval letter be included with an offer to purchase and buyer's are concerned that the seller will see the total amount for which they have been approved. In reality, the finance person will write the approval letter for the amount of the offer so even if you have been approved for a larger amount, it doesn't "tip your hand" in the negotiating process.