Step 01 · Before you look at a single house
Your Approval Is Your Ticket to the Show
“Think of it like getting a ticket to the show. Home sellers judge you by one thing — your approval.”Greg Holthaus · Designated Managing Broker & Owner
Buyers get this backwards constantly. They shop first, fall in love with a house, then scramble to find a lender — and by the time the paperwork catches up, the home is under contract with somebody who came prepared. Without an approval letter you are a spectator. With one, you are in the building.
A seller weighing two offers is not judging your personality, your job title, or how much you love the kitchen. They are judging one piece of paper: proof that your money is real and your loan will close. That is the whole decision. Get the letter first and every other step below gets easier, faster, and cheaper.
It Gets You in the Door
Plenty of listing agents will not schedule a showing without an approval letter attached. No letter, no walkthrough — you are shopping from the sidewalk.
Sellers Take You Seriously
An offer with no approval reads as a maybe. Sellers pick the buyer most likely to actually close, and that letter is the only evidence they have.
You Learn Your Real Number
Approval tells you what you can spend, what the payment truly looks like with taxes and insurance, and how much cash you need at the table — before you get attached.
You Close Faster
Credit, income, and assets are already reviewed. When the right house hits you move in days instead of weeks — and a shorter close wins offers.
Pre-qualified is not pre-approved. Pre-qualification is an estimate based on numbers you told a lender over the phone. Pre-approval means the lender actually pulled your credit and reviewed your income and assets, then put it in writing. Sellers here know the difference.
Jarod Sanders
Jarod’s office is inside our Marion location at 1201 W. Main St — same building, same team. Your approval, your broker, your title work, and your closing are all talking to each other instead of playing phone tag across three companies. Conventional, FHA, VA, USDA rural, jumbo, and investment financing. Licensed in Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, and Texas.