Improve Your Home Buying Power
Before you start deciding how many bedrooms and bathrooms you need, it’s crucial to sit down and determine how much house you can afford. Once that’s done, we give you a Certificate of Pre-Approval, which is a document that tells your realtor and the seller of any home you’re interested in that you’ll likely be able to get a loan to do the deal. It’s really difficult to get buyers interested in your offer with it.
To get there, an Ark Mortgage Advisor helps you to work out a budget. We consider your net income and subtract your current debt while leaving wiggle room for unforeseen expenses. That determines your Maximum Affordable Payment (MAP) for your mortgage, which in turn tells us what amount loan you’ll be likely to be approved for. Your Ark Mortgage Advisor will also tell you about various ways you can maximize your purchasing power.
How much mortgage can I afford?
The first step in buying a house is determining a realistic budget. Start with this handy calculator to get an estimate of how much you can qualify for, and how a home loan will fit into your monthly payments. The calculator takes into account your income, the purchase price, and total monthly payment. Try a couple scenarios to see how it might affect your finances.
Pre-Approval FAQs
How much mortgage can I afford?
What is the difference between a Certified Pre-Ppproval and a pre-qualification?
What is required for a Certified Pre-Approval?
How long does it take to get a Certified Pre-Approval?
How much mortgage can I afford?
The measure of how much mortgage you can afford is called your Maximum Affordable Payment (MAP). That in turn determines how much you’ll be able to borrow. Determining your MAP is the first step in home buying. Use the calculator on this page to get a rough idea of your MAC.
What is the difference between a Certified Pre-Ppproval and a pre-qualification?
A mortgage pre-qualification is a simple calculation to see what you can afford based often on verbal communication of your income/debt ratio, assets, cash available for a down payment, employment history, and estimated credit score. You can get pre-qualified quickly but since the information hasn’t been verified by documentation, it won’t hold much weight when negotiating with sellers.
An Ark Certified Pre-Approval, on the other hand, is a written, conditional commitment from our company, valid for 60 days, stating you are pre-approved for mortgage financing up to a specified amount based on submitted documentation. Of course, you’ll still need to complete a loan application, get an appraisal of the purchase property, and supply other documents to get your actual loan underwritten.
What is required for a Certified Pre-Approval?
It’s a simple process in which we review your income and assets and review your credit history based on the documents you supply. It’s guaranteed for 60 days. Considering the weight a Certified Pre-Approval carries over a pre-qualification, it’s a no-brainer to get one before your start house hunting.
How long does it take to get a Certified Pre-Approval?
Once your loan application is submitted, it normally takes less than 24 hours to receive your Certified Pre-Approval from Ark Mortgage.
The Ark Certified Pre-Approval Difference
Faster Applications
Working with your Personal Mortgage Advisor, you’ll complete the Certified Pre-Approval app in less than 30 minutes
Approvals in 1 Day
Our in-house underwriting team will review your application and documents within 24 hours or less
2 Month Guarantee
The Ark Mortgage Certified Pre-Approval conditionally guarantees your approval limit in writing for 60 days.
Close Within 3 Weeks
With the Ark Express Mortgage, you’ll move from a completed application to the closing table in under 21 days.
A Lifetime of Savings
The Ark Mortgage Lifetime Guarantee gives you the option to refinance later without origination or appraisal fees.