Haha, I totally feel your pain on that one.
"honestly felt like we aged five years in two days."
Been there myself, and it's no joke—stressful doesn't even begin to describe it. But hey, you made it through and got the house, right? That's a huge win in itself. Honestly, getting pre-approved is one of those things people underestimate until they're smack dab in the middle of the chaos. It's like credit repair or budgeting—seems tedious at first, but once you've done it, you're so grateful you did. Plus, sellers tend to take you way more seriously when you've got that pre-approval letter in hand. Glad it worked out for you though...and now you've got a great story to tell at future potlucks, haha.
I remember when my wife and I stumbled onto our dream house randomly on a Sunday drive—we weren't pre-approved, hadn't even seriously started looking yet. Cue absolute panic mode trying to scramble paperwork in 48 hours...felt like we were contestants on some twisted reality show, haha. Luckily, we got it sorted just in time, but man, lesson learned. Pre-approval definitely saves you from a few gray hairs down the road.
"felt like we were contestants on some twisted reality show, haha."
Haha, that's exactly how I've heard a few clients describe it. Glad you managed to pull it off in time—definitely not easy under that kind of pressure. It's funny how often people find their dream home when they're least prepared...almost like houses have some secret radar for catching buyers off guard. Did you end up having to compete with other offers, too, or was the scramble mostly about getting financing lined up? Either way, good on you both for making it happen. I've seen plenty of folks miss out because they couldn't get paperwork sorted quick enough. Sounds like you earned those gray hairs!
Went through something similar a few years back—found the perfect place before even thinking about pre-approval. Honestly, felt like jumping from one hoop to another just to keep up. Lesson learned: paperwork first, house hunting second... saves a lot of stress.
"Honestly, felt like jumping from one hoop to another just to keep up."
Haha, yep, sounds about right. I'm way too cautious (okay, paranoid) to even think about house hunting without the pre-approval sorted first. Knowing my luck, I'd find the perfect spot only to lose it because of some paperwork snag or credit hiccup. Better safe than sorry, especially when it comes to big money stuff... stress levels are high enough already!
