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- Maybe you're a first-time home buyer. Perhaps you have a home to sell and you haven't used a mortgage to purchase a home in a long time. The process of getting pre-qualed first and then getting pre-approved for a mortgage is free, there is no harm to your credit, and everything is confidential. All your personal information is confidential. A broker-realtor like me, or even when you write a contract and you attach a pre-qualification letter to the offer, the other side, the only thing we know about your personal profile, your financial personal profile is the type of loan that you're using, the interest rate, and the amount of the mortgage. And the amount of the mortgage is the most important thing for you to know. This way, you understand how much down paymnent you perhaps will need, and no, you do not need 10 to 20% down to buy a house on a mortgage, with a mortgage. There are other programs out there, zero down for vets, and also USDA. FHA is 3.5%. So the only thing you really need to know is how much, the most important thing is how much house you can afford. That's a big, big detail. And you should really use a lender, a professional mortgage broker, and stay away from Wells Fargo, stay away from Bank of America, and also Chase Mort. And it's been my history over the decades that these large banks are really challenged to originate a mortgage. They ask for the same documents over again, and they may not even close on time. So, you need, preferably a local, and reputable mortgage brokerage to guide you through this process. To get in place, to get a mortgage, and to get the highest credit. So get your score up. And also get the lowest interest rate. Those are very important items for you. Along with how much house can you afford. The one lender that I use, and have used over the decades is Supreme Lending. And Andrea Keith. - People are afraid to have their credit pulled but really, pulling credit doesn't have a big impact. Maybe zero to two points, possible impact on your credit score. But the thing is, if you don't pull your credit, you won't know where you stand. You really need an expert to look at it and tell you what you need to do. So if you're ready now, great. If you're not ready now, talk to somebody who can help you get there. I'm Andrea Keith with Supreme Lending. I've been a loan officer for over 25 years and I love helping people figure out their next step. - So there's good news. If you're going to use a mortgage to buy a home, get yourself in place to get pre-qualified, and then eventually pre-approved with a preferably local mortgage brokerage. And stay away from the big banks. With a local mortgage brokerage, you will find how much house you can really afford for your budget, how to get your credit in place to get the lowest interest rates, and work with somebody who will actually help you and keep all of your information confidential. Hey, by the way, if you wanna see some of the big seller mistakes, visit myTexasRealEstate.com, nine biggest seller mistakes and find out some of the big boo-boos that sellers make when trying to sell their house. I'm Cliff Hahn, broker-owner of Hahn Real Estate. Serving all of Central Texas and the Greater Austin Area, where it's always time to buy Texas.