If You Ain’t Been Pre-approved – You Ain’t Shoopoo

Somewhere at a truck stop in Pennsylvania, you might find a t-shirt that reads:

“If You Ain’t Been Possum Hissed, You Ain’t Shoopoo.”

I wish I could show you a picture of this shirt but all I found was this photo of a possum.

My memory of this very weird shirt, which I wore for Halloween one year when I went dressed as a “Shotgun Wedding” (I was Paw, dragging my Kin to the altar), reminds me of agents who don’t require their clients be pre-approved before showing them homes or presenting offers.

For three years, I worked only as an exclusive buyer’s agent. Only within the last year have I been on the other side, examining offers and am shocked that all agents don’t get their clients pre-approved BEFORE putting in an offer.  Even more surprising, I get grief back from agents who try to tell me that a pre-qualification is good enough.  Ehhh! Wrong answer.

I’m not going to explain this to agents – if they don’t know, I can’t help them.

If you are a home buyer, you need to get a pre-approval. Here’s why:

• I will advise my seller clients that it is in their best interest for them to go with a buyer who is pre-approved over one who is pre-qualified. Life is not like a box of chocolates when it comes to real estate – you want to know what you’re going to get.(Sorry, Forrest Gump)
• If you and your agent present an offer with only a pre-qualification, I will ask you to do a pre-approval and/or ask a lender I know to review the letter. This will delay acceptance and allow for another buyer to submit an offer.
• A pre-approval gives you, the buyer, a better idea of what you can afford based on more than just your income.  A pre-approval verifies your income and examines your credit. You don’t want to be one of those buyers scrambling a week before closing to find alternative financing.

A pre-approval is more work for a buyer but ultimately, it puts you in a better position.  Don’t you want to be shoopoo?