A common question I run into from clients – especially first time buyers – has to do with their credit scores and mortgage preapproval.  The question is usually phrased in some way similar to

“I’m getting ready to buy a home soon but I’m worried that if I get preapproved too early and don’t find a home before the preapproval expires, that I’ll need a new one.  Will that first preapproval damage my credit score and make a new preapproval harder to get?”

Above all else, consider that credit scoring is intended to reflect the payment and credit habits of the individual in question: in this case, it’s you.  When your Michigan mortgage lender pulls your credit, there’s a chance your score might drop a few points.

This initial pull is necessary so that your Michigan mortgage lender can help you address anything that needs to be corrected to improve your scenario before you buy.  From my experiences, it’s not uncommon to see a score that is lower than what home buyers expect.  Sometimes there were recent inquiries, or a single payment was reported as late that you weren’t aware of.

Once your Michigan mortgage lender grants the preapproval, that preapproval is good for approximately 90 days.  That gives you plenty of time to find Oakland county real estate or Wayne county real estate that suits you.  The 90 day mark may vary slightly depending on the age of your supporting documentation used to validate your preapproval.

Once approved, your credit may not need to be pulled again until after you have an actual offer ready to go out.

This is where you have to get savvy about your spending and credit habits though.  Credit scoring is accumulative;  that means if you went shopping and picked up some big ticket items or made some new credit inquiries, those are going to compound with the pull of your credit from your Michigan mortgage lender.

That can drop your score, and if a second pull is required you can expect to have to explain each of the individual credit inquiries.  The best approach is to talk to your Michigan mortgage lender now and do an initial pull of your credit.  Identify what needs to be fixed, if anything, then take corrective action.  Avoid additional spending and inquiries during this period to let you score improve.

If you’re considering buying a home in Royal Oak, Birmingham, Ann Arbor, Plymouth, Livonia or surrounding communities in between then come and talk to me – it always pays to have a local Michigan mortgage lender on your side to help you develop a game plan for moving forward.