We sold in five days, so pre-approval became priority number one
If you read the last post, you'll know our house sold a lot faster than the 20 months leading up to it suggested it might. Offer on Monday, unconditional by Friday. Which meant something else moved fast too: getting our own pre-approval sorted, because suddenly we needed to know exactly what we could work with.
Why it happened so fast
When a sale drags on for months, it's easy to assume you've got time to sort the next step later. We certainly did. Then the call came, and within days we had a signed, unconditional offer and nowhere lined up to go. There was no gentle lead-in, no weeks to mull things over. Property has a habit of doing this, moving at its own pace right up until it doesn't.
It's a good reminder not to wait until you've got a firm reason to sort your pre-approval. If you're even thinking about buying or selling in the next while, having that groundwork done means you're ready the moment things move, instead of scrambling once they already have.
The goals and position chat
Before any paperwork happened, we sat down with Amber (our My Mortgage Adviser) and talked through where we were actually at. What we wanted next, what mattered most, what our position looked like once the sale settled. It sounds like a small step, but it's the part that shapes everything after it.
This is the conversation I have with clients all the time, and it's not just a formality before the application goes in. It's where you figure out what you're actually trying to achieve, not just what number you can borrow. Once that's clear, the rest of the process has direction instead of just being paperwork for paperwork's sake.
What pre-approval actually gives you
Here's the part that matters most: pre-approval firms up what you can borrow. Not a rough guess, not "should be fine," but an actual figure a lender has agreed to, so you know what you're working with before you're standing in front of the next place you love.
That certainty is everything when things move quickly. We didn't have time to wonder whether the numbers would work, because we already knew. And practically, having good systems behind you matters here too. Ours meant our information could go in first thing and be sent off the same day, rather than sitting in a queue while the clock ticks on a good property.
If you're in the middle of your own sale or just want your numbers firmed up before you need them, we're always happy to chat about where you're at.
Choose a date and time below on the calendar that suits you and your 15 minute online meeting will be instantly booked into Rhianon's calendar.
