Overheard a realtor say something at an open house that made me rethink pre-approvals

This agent told a couple they shouldn't get pre-approved until they've actually found a house they like, because the credit pull expires in 90 days. That kind of advice seems backwards to me, has anyone else heard agents pushing that approach?

2 comments

2 Comments

danielmartinez5d ago

My buddy learned this the hard way. He got pre-approved in March, was house hunting for months, and by the time he found a place in late June the bank wanted to pull his credit again. The realtor was nice about it but basically said yeah that pre-approval letter is worthless now. He lost out on two houses because sellers wanted someone with a fresh pre-approval. Then he had to reapply and his score dropped a few points from the hard pull. Really frustrating situation that could've been avoided if he just waited like the agent suggested.

spencer_ross5d ago

Did your buddy ask his realtor to send over the updated letter from the lender each time? I did that on my last house hunt and it saved me a bunch of headaches.