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First, a pre-approval letter is not the same as a pre-qualification letter.  A pre-qualification letter can be generated in a few minutes by calling a lender, or on line, and is based on information you provide and a quick credit check.  A pre-approval letter, on the other hand, requires verification of income, employment and financial information.  It is an actual approval of you, the buyer, subject to the property meeting lender appraisal guidelines. 

A lender is not bound by the pre-approval letter, but as long as your financial condition does not change in an adverse way, or the time commitment has not lapsed, it is deemed dependable.  Note that interest rates could change too, which may affect the terms of the pre-approval . . . good or bad.

Why is a pre-approval letter a must?

More good news . . .

The Ohio Association of REALTORS reported that the number of single-family homes and condos put under agreement in the state of Ohio in July rose for the 27th consecutive month compared to the results from the prior year.

Read the full article here.

Real estate agents are pretty busy these days as the real estate market in Mahoning County continues to improve.  Some meaningful statistics from the Monthly Market Indicators report, comparing year-to-date June 2013 to June 2012:

• Pendings + 11.4%
• Closings + 14.4%
• Days on Market went down from 150 days in June 2012 to 119 in June 2013, a 20.8% decrease
• Median Sales Price + 5.1%
• Average Sales Price + 6.1%, from $94,996 in June 2012 to $100,794 in June 2013.  It's been a while since our average sale price exceeded the $100K mark
• Inventories remain low, with only a 7 month supply of homes currently on the market

To read the full report, click on the attachment link below this post.  

Report provided by the Youngstown Columbiana Association of REALTORS®.

What are Boomerang Buyers?  Buyers who went through a Short Sale, Foreclosure or Deed-In-Lieu with their lenders over the past several years and have since saved up the money for a down payment and cleaned up their credit as much as they could.  Read on to learn how you may be able to become a homeowner again.

'Boomerang Buyers' Are Staging a Comeback -

Former home owners who went through a foreclosure, short sale, or bankruptcy are ready to buy again and poised to flood the market. Will you be... [Nar Daily News Magazine]

Did you hear the Youngstown Metro area (including Mahoning, Trumbull & Mercer Counties) was ranked #4 in the top 10 cities for baby boomers according to a study by LifeGoesStrong.com?

In the real estate business we have seen many people return home to the Youngstown area after retiring from their jobs that took them to other areas of the country.  Retirees want to be close to family, old friends, and familiar places.  The low cost of living and affordable housing are important to retirees as well as the availability of health care, shopping, golf courses . . . and of course the midwestern values.

The Youngstown metro area truly is a great place to live for lots of reasons . . . read the full article at LifeGoesStrong.com.