Page 19 - Smartline eBook - First home buyer

8. Identification
Finally, a lender will always need formal identification, such as a passport, driver’s licence or other photo ID. If you don’t have these, you may be able to provide an original birth certificate, Medicare card or some other forms of identification.
Applying for conditional or pre-approval
Before you go through the formal process of applying for a home loan, you should always speak to your Smartline Mortgage Adviser dviser about conditional, or pre-approval. This is a lender’s agreement that you should be approved for a home loan up to a certain dollar limit, so long as you can provide formal proof of what you tell them in your application and the property you purchase meets
the requirements.
Also sometimes known as “approval-in-principle”, conditional approval usually comes with a timeline in which it is valid, for instance, “90 days from application”.
There are several benefits to seeking conditional approval:
• Conditional approval gives you a clearer idea of how much you can borrow and therefore your budget.
• It shows real estate agents and vendors that you are serious and genuine in your property search.
• Conditional approval gives you a realistic idea of what type of property you can afford, and so helps focus your property search on what is achievable.
• It gives you the confidence to make offers on private sales and to bid at auction.
Once you have it and you’ve found the perfect property, you should check with your lender about which documents you’ll need to provide to turn your conditional approval into a proper home loan.
First home buyer guide 19