You can call us before you know whether buying is even possible. No house picked out, no confident numbers, no tidy spreadsheet required. Sorting that out is what the conversation is for.
We start with the payment you'd actually be comfortable living with, which may be well below the number on the letter. A pre-approval tells you where you stand. It isn't a dare to shop at the top of it.
Once a home gets serious, we rerun things with its real insurance and association dues, because those can change what fits. Your income can be fully checked and the property still needs its own review.
When it's time to write the offer, we make the letter fit the terms you're proposing. With your permission, we can tell the listing agent what's been reviewed without handing over your private financial records. And before anyone agrees to a short financing timeline, we check what's left to do.
If you're selling, two letters can look identical and represent very different amounts of work. Ask what stands behind the buyer's number. A higher offer on a lightly checked approval can carry more risk than its letter lets on.
And if the honest answer from an early review is to wait a while, that's a good result too. You'd be waiting on purpose, with a plan, and that beats finding out in escrow.
Related real-estate guide: Real Estate and Mortgage Strategy Together.