How To Get Pre-Approved: Home Buyer Financing Options
Pre-Approval Isn't Paperwork. It's Leverage.
In a market like North Texas, the buyer who walks in pre-approved doesn’t just look serious, they are serious and sellers know the difference. A pre-approval letter tells everyone at the table that your financing is handled, your price range is real, and your offer can actually close. When inventory is tight and good homes move fast, that’s not a formality. That’s your edge.
Here’s what most buyers get wrong: they start touring homes before they understand their numbers. Smart buyers do it the other way around. Get your financing locked first, and every showing after that is a decision instead of a guess. Below is exactly how it works, what your options are, and the lenders I trust to get it done right.
What Will Your Monthly Payment Be?
Run your numbers before you tour. Adjust the price, down payment, and rate to see your real monthly cost — principal, interest, taxes, and insurance.
Pre-Qualified vs. Pre-Approved | Know the Difference
Pre-qualified is the conversation. You tell a lender your income, debts, and assets, and they give you a ballpark estimate of what you might borrow. It’s fast, it’s useful for orientation, BUT it’s not verified.
Pre-approved is the commitment. The lender pulls your credit, verifies your documents, and issues a letter stating exactly what they’re prepared to lend. This is the one that makes your offer competitive. When you’re ready to actually shop, you want to be pre-approved — not just pre-qualified.</p>
Your Financing Options
There's no single "right" loan there's the right loan for your situation. Here are the main paths North Texas buyers use
Conventional
The most common loan type. Qualified buyers can put down as little as 3%. Private mortgage insurance applies until you reach roughly 20% equity, and strong credit earns the best terms.
FHA
Backed by the Federal Housing Administration, with down payments as low as 3.5% and more flexible credit requirements. A strong fit for first-time buyers or anyone rebuilding credit.
VA
For eligible veterans, active service members, and certain surviving spouses. Often 0% down with no private mortgage insurance one of the most powerful loan programs available.
USDA
A 0%-down option for eligible buyers in qualifying rural and suburban areas. This matters here: large portions of Ellis County qualify, so a USDA loan can be very real for buyers looking outside the urban core.
Jumbo
For homes priced above the conforming loan limit. Used for higher-end purchases and underwritten a bit more strictly. The right lender will tell you quickly whether you’re in jumbo territory.
Not sure which fits? That’s exactly the conversation to have with one of the lenders below before you fall in love with a home.
What You'll Need to Get Pre-Approved
Have these ready and the process moves fast:
- Recent pay stubs (typically the last 30 days)
- W-2s and/or tax returns (usually the last two years)
- Recent bank and asset statements
- Photo ID and Social Security number for the credit pull
- Details on any other income, debts, or large recent deposits
- Self-employed or have a less traditional income picture? Don’t assume that’s a problem, just bring it up early. The right lender solves for it.
Down Payment Assistance in Texas
The Money Most Buyers Don't Know Exists
Here’s the myth that keeps more Texans renting than any other: that you need 20% down to buy a home. You don’t. Plenty of qualified buyers get in with a fraction of that and a surprising number get help covering even that fraction. Down payment assistance is real, it’s available across Texas, and most people who qualify for it never apply, because they never knew to ask.
Let me pull back the curtain on how this actually works.
What Down Payment Assistance Actually Is
“Assistance” isn’t just one thing it’s an entire category. Depending on the program, help can come as a grant you don’t repay, a second loan that’s forgiven over time(if you stay in the home long enough), a deferred loan you pay back only when you sell or refinance, or a tax credit that lowers what you owe the IRS each year. Different structures, same outcome: less cash out of your pocket at the closing table.
Where It Comes From
Texas buyers have three main sources of help.
- Statewide programs are administered through agencies like the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) and the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation (TSAHC). This includes programs aimed at first-time buyers and at specific professions like teachers, first responders, veterans, and other public servants.
- Local programs run through individual cities and counties, and they vary widely from one community to the next.
- Lender-specific programs exist that never show up in a Google search which is exactly why the right lender is your first move, not your last.
The Part Nobody Tells You
These programs come with rules: income limits, purchase price caps, occupancy requirements, sometimes a required homebuyer education course. Funding isn’t unlimited, and some programs open and close as money cycles through. The wrong loan structure can also quietly cost you more than the assistance is worth. None of that should scare you off but it should be the reason you start with a professional who knows which programs are live, which ones fit your situation, and how to stack them correctly. That’s a five-minute conversation that can change what you thought was possible.
Find Out What You Qualify For
Don’t assume you make too much, or too little, or that you’ve already missed it. The only way to know is to ask someone who runs these numbers every day. Reach out to one of the trusted lenders below and ask the simple question: “What down payment assistance am I eligible for?” The answer is free, and it might be the difference between renting another year and owning this one.
Click on the image to the right to find out what down payment assistance programs you qualify for →
The Lenders I Trust
These are the professionals I send my own buyers to. They communicate quickly, they close on time, and they treat my clients the way I do. Reach out to any of them and tell them Bobby sent you. I recommend these lenders based on their expertise and service. I do not receive compensation for referrals.
Andrew Bryan | Miramar Mortgage
Jennifer Nelson | Eustis Mortgage
Taylor Fruge | Lower Mortgage
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Bobby Franklin
Realtor®
Serving DFW | Ellis County
16 Northgate Dr. Ste 100
Waxahachie, TX 75165
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