Remember when you wanted to leverage a piece of property and you would call the bank and say, “Hi, this is Bill Brannon. I am a nice guy, work hard and make good money. I want to borrow “x” dollars to buy this house/condo/lot”.  The banker would say “Fine Bill, come on down. We can have this taken care in a couple of days.” I hope you took a picture of those days because they are gone. If you want to pick up a home/condo/lot today you should:

1. Get pre-approved before you start looking. This will save you a lot of time once you find the property you want, and make you a stronger buyer in the sellers eyes.

2. Notify your closing attorney you are looking for property and to expect to hear from your lender.

3. Count on at least 21-30 days to get final bank approval for you. Maybe longer if you are purchasing a condo that is not already approved by your bank.

4. Have your loan pack ready for the bank. This would include: A: Pay stubs for the past 30 days. B: Last2 years W2s. C: Last 2 years tax returns, the whole thing not just the first two pages. D: Last 2 months bank/asset statement including all pages.

5. Current financial statement.

6. Any other documents that might affect your loan application.

Having all this at the ready and getting pre approved will make the process of purchasing property here on Hilton Head Island  or anywhere, go much smoother with less stress and pressure on you.