Become a Certified Approved Homebuyer!

Have you noticed that the housing market is super competitive?  Are you having trouble getting our offer accepted? As you shop for your dream home, there is one thing that can put you at an advantage with the seller. We provide that with the expertise and technics that have proven successful with our many happy homebuyers. How do you get them to stop ignoring your offers? Become a Certified Approved Homebuyer!

I know it sounds crazy, but there’s a way to position yourself like you have cash on hand. Believe me, when I say Realtors—they won’t even return phone calls from people who can’t show they’re ready to close quickly!

Your purchase of a new home starts with shopping for the perfect lender, The Richard Woodward Mortgage Team. We offer a fully underwritten loan approval that has been signed off on by the person that makes the loan decision, the underwriter. And as a Certified Approved Homebuyer, you can have confidence and get your offers accepted more quickly than other buyers. This approach is different from getting pre-approval through an officer at the bank or one of those cheap online lenders—which just doesn’t carry much weight anymore. In fact, Realtors will advise sellers NOT to take those offers because they have a reputation of not closing on time or worse, not at all. Instead, a Certified Approved Homebuyer takes it to another level by maximizing your offer with full approval and the backing of a local professional lender – The Richard Woodward Team!

Being “pre-qualified” is not as good as being approved

It’s no secret that getting pre-approved for a mortgage can save you time. A pre-qualification does just what the word implies: it qualifies you to purchase a home before the lender can verify anything. They rely on the information given by you, and sure, you may think it is correct but is it? Do you know all the mortgage approval guidelines? Of course, you don’t. Without the collection of the required documents, review, and approval by a licensed loan officer and underwriter, your pre-qualification is worthless.

The Certified Approved Homebuyer process verifies a home buyer’s financial qualifications by confirming employment, assets, and credit. The online application process takes less than 10 minutes to complete and once approved, you are as good as a cash buyer.  We provide you with a secure portal to upload your documents.  We can even help collect some of the information for you with our advanced technology and AI.

Documents needed

• Copies of pay stubs for each applicant, reflecting a minimum of 30 days of income
• Names/addresses of employers for two years
• W-2s for two years
• One to two years of tax returns if you are self-employed or own rental properties
• Bank statements for two months
• If self-employed, year-to-date profit and loss statement
• Proof of pension income, if applicable
• Social Security and Disability payments, if applicable
• 1099’s
• A copy of a divorce decree or child support order if you have been divorced within the last 10 years.
• A copy of the earnest money deposit
• Student loan statement
• Security accounts (stocks, bonds, life insurance) if your down payment or closing cost if coming from this source

Your file will get fully underwritten

Now you’ve already done the hard part – submitting all of your financial documents to a lender. Now is where you can really distinguish yourself from other homebuyers by taking that extra step and having an actual underwriter review your file, which puts you conditionally approved for financing on almost any new property right off the bat!

Here are 4 reasons why our Certified Approved Homebuyer Program will help your offer get selected.

1. The approval process is already taken care of when it comes time to close on the sale. You will still need an appraisal to ensure the value of the home is at least as much as the purchase price. If it is not, we have options for you.
2. This helps both parties have peace of mind and prevents any hiccups from popping up at the last minute. With multiple offers often coming in on one property, sellers and listing agents want fully approved homebuyers, you have an advantage!
3. The Richard Woodward Team will call and text the listing agent upfront and with your permission, share your full approval strengths and do what it takes to help get your offer accepted. Not to mention our stellar reputation of always closing on time as promised.  We have done this countless times, the Realtors know us and respect us.
4. You can close in as little at 15 days!**

Remember though; underwriters still make final decisions about whether or not someone gets approved – but having this Certified Approved Homebuyer Program can be like making a cash offer as well!

The final step – the closing

Now that we’ve covered the important ways to keep your home-buying process on track, it’s time for you to get started. After you provide your accepted purchase contract, we will still need to collect the title work, the survey, and the appraisal and make sure they are acceptable but don’t worry! You can close in as little as 2-3 weeks just like cash buyers do!

There are many resources available from The Richard Woodward Mortgage Team and from our top Realtor friends we can refer you to—all of which can help make sure all steps go as smoothly as possible.

Ready to get started?  Apply now

**The certification is subject to the financial status and credit report(s) of everyone on the application remaining substantially the same until closing, an acceptable contract of sale on a suitable property, collateral (things like the appraisal, title, survey, condition, and insurance) satisfies the requirements of the Lender and loan selected is still available in the market. All closing conditions of the Lender must be satisfied including the clear transfer of the title, acceptable and adequate title and hazard insurance, flood certification, and any inspections that are required by the real estate contract.  Down payment assistance, USDA, Jumbo, and Non-QM loans are excluded.  Appraisal turn times and delivery are determined by the appraisal company and not Nexa Mortgage in compliance with federal regulations.