Agent or Lender: Who Should You Speak to First When Buying a Home?
Do I need to speak with a lender first or find my agent? To achieve a streamlined purchase, the best solution is to find both your agent and lender early.
If you’re planning to buy a home, your first step is to compile your real estate team. For most buyers, that means determining who to speak to first.
Do I need to speak to a lender first? Or, is it better for buyers to find their agents first?
For most buyers, you will be working alongside a lender and an agent to help close on your new home. The two members of your team will play different roles, but they are both essential to successfully purchasing a home.
Here is some information for buyers to consider to help them determine who they should speak to first — do I need to speak to a lender first, or agent?
Do I Need to Speak to a Lender First?
If you’re going to be financing the purchase of your home with a mortgage loan, you’ll be working alongside a lender to find your qualifying loan options and underwrite your unique mortgage package. Yes is the short answer.
Speaking with different lenders and exploring multiple offers allows buyers to make an informed decision about who is best to work with.
Buyers should always shop around for their lenders before deciding which lending institution to commit to. Different lenders maintain different qualifying criteria to determine the eligibility of borrowers. Lenders also offer different loan packages that may vary.
Because of the slight differences between lenders, it’s possible that different lenders will give you different offers.
Besides being able to pick the most preferable loan package, shopping for your lender gives you greater leverage during negotiations. If you have competing offers from other lenders, you may be able to land preferred loan terms, such as a lower interest rate or waived fees.
Since the process of finding the right lender can take time, it’s always best to start shopping for your mortgage as early as possible. The sooner you start, the more leverage you have when choosing your best option.
You should start researching loans and lenders in your area as soon as you know that you want to purchase a home. This will allow you the opportunity to work on boosting your borrower qualifications — such as your credit score — potentially allowing you to access preferable terms and rates.
Speaking to your lender early allows you to seek pre-approval and pre-qualification as soon as possible, helping you understand your budget and other details that will impact your sale.
When To Speak To An Agent
It’s recommended to start looking for your agent early on in the home buying process. This allows you to dedicate more time to finding prospects and interviewing potential agents, helping you find your ideal agent.
Buyers can start speaking with agents when they are ready to purchase the home.
However, you will need to know exactly what your budget is before you can start working with your agent to find potential listings.
You’ll also need to have a pre-approval or pre-qualification letter from your lender in hand when it’s time to place an offer on a home you like. After you put the offer on a home, your lender will also need to approve the property for purchase before you can move forward.
Because the lender plays a big role in getting your home purchase started, you should speak to your lender before you start taking action with your agent. But, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t know which agent you want to work with early on in the process.
Start Looking For Both a Lender and an Agent Early
If you’re asking “do I need to speak with a lender first, or should I speak to an agent first?” the best strategy for buyers is to start speaking to both as early as possible.
The sooner you assemble your real estate team, the smoother your transaction will go.
However, you will need to have been working with your lender by the time you’re taking the first steps with your agent — so it’s critical that you’re speaking with your lender before you plan on officially starting your market search.
Find The Best Agent
If you want to find the best agent for you in your target market, explore the agent recommendations from RealEstateAgents.com. RealEstateAgents.com reviews millions of home sales to match you with the most successful agents in your area.
To instantly get paired with your perfect agent, click here. To browse through more helpful tips and real estate advice, explore more articles on the RealEstateAgents.com Blog.
