Buying a home is one of the biggest things you’ll ever do — but it doesn’t have to be the most traumatic. This is where a great agent and fabulous loan officer come in. There are 3 steps to buying a house: 1) Figure out how much you can afford 2) Get a loan pre-approval and 3) Look for a house. I promise this is the only boring part. Once you have your loan pre-approval, everything else is pretty fun and exciting.

My preferred lender is Jinhee Hann with Prospect Mortgage (in-house for Keller Williams Los Feliz). Not only is she fantastic with numbers, but she’s also super responsive, accurate, invested in her clients and happens to be a really cool person too. Take a look at this loan summary and when you’re ready, send her a note or call 213-300-0618.

How do I estimate how much home I can afford?
You need to know your price range before you shop for a home. Our Home Affordability Calculator can help you estimate your home price range based on the down payment and monthly payments you can afford. Once you have that, you’ll need to pre-qualify for a home loan before you start home shopping.

Pre-qualification Checklist

Please put together the documentation below as it applies to your scenario.

– Please allow 30-45 minutes to take an application over the phone
– 2 years of W-2s
– 1 month of Pay Stubs
– 2 months Asset Statements for all accounts on your application (savings, 401k, etc.)
– 2 years of Tax Returns or if you’re a business, 2 years of business returns
– 24 months Job History, previous addresses & social security numbers for all borrowers applying
– If you Rent, please provide the name and number of your landlord
– If you pay Rent to an individual, provide the last 12 cancelled checks
– If you Own(ed), provide payment coupon and insurance declarations page for all properties
– If you own Rental Property, provide copies of current rental agreements and 2 years Schedule E
– VA Loans – copy of DD 214 and Original Certificate of Eligibility