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# Ask the Expert: Getting Ready to Buy a Home

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<!-- video src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/VKQr8f6R.m3u8" -->
## Video: Ask the Expert: Getting Ready to Buy a Home

[Watch (HLS stream): Ask the Expert: Getting Ready to Buy a Home](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/VKQr8f6R.m3u8) (1:14)

![Ask the Expert: Getting Ready to Buy a Home](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/VKQr8f6R/poster.jpg?width=720)

_Published 2014-10-01. Century 21 Real Estate CEO Rick Davidson talks about the importance of checking your credit report and getting pre-approved for a mortgage._


---

Jul 27, 2023 5:17 PM UTC

---

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### When Are You Ready to Buy a Home?

---


## Transcript

[ MUSIC ] Couple of things. The first is, engage a real estate professional. Somebody who understands and knows the local marketplace. The second thing is, know what your credit is. Take a look at your credit report. Understand what blemishes you may have on your credit report, understand what the FICO score means and how that relates to risk and how that risk will be underwritten by a particular lender. Know, you know, kind of what the issues are and resolve those issues in advance of going out to the market to look for a home. Go to a lender and get. Pre- approved for a mortgage. So based upon, you know, your current buying power, if you're out in the market place with a pre- approved number, you can really understand then what price point that you can be looking in, and you're able to respond very quickly in making an offer.

And, you know, where, kind of, the high end is for based upon what cash you might have that you're gong to put into the deal. And you can be much more responsive to the market. You've gotta be able to be nimble and move at the speed of the market and at the speed of the seller. Work with the real estate professional to help to get to there and that pre- approval really helps you to maneuver the market much better.

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