Three Reasons Prospective Home Buyers Need A Pre-Approval Letter

A resident of Wichita, Kansas, Dan Madrigal is an experienced real estate professional who has served at Berkshire Hathaway Home Services for over two decades. In this role, Dan Madrigal assists home owners with selling their home and home buyers with obtaining a pre-approval letter prior to searching for their new home.

A pre-approval letter is a document commonly requested of homeowners by real estate agents before home seekers begin their search for a new home. This document testifies that a person is in a financial position to purchase a home since they either already have the necessary funds available or have been approved by a financial lender to purchase. Here are three reasons home seekers need a pre-approval letter.

1. It enhances negotiation ability. Buyers with a pre-approval letter are in a better position to negotiate during the home-buying process than those who don’t have one. For example, if a homeowner receives more than one offer on their home, they are more likely to accept an offer from a buyer who has already been pre-approved.

2. It helps protect sellers. Qualified homebuyers who have been pre-approved by a financial lender provide a degree of proof to realtors and home sellers that they are serious about the buying process. Some sellers even require a pre-approval letter before they spend their time and effort preparing their home for a showing.

3. It protects the safety of real estate agents. Agents that request a pre-approval letter gain assurance that the prospective buyer has been researched by a financial lender. Information such as the buyer's previous work history, current financial situation, social insurance number, and other personal information are checked by the lender before a pre-approval letter is issued.

 

America’s Top 100 Real Estate Agents Selection Process

As a Realtor at Berkshire Hathaway, Dan Madrigal helps clients sell their properties by preparing their homes, setting up home inspections, and negotiating sales prices. A resident of Wichita, Kansas, Dan Madrigal has been recognized as the No. 1 Berkshire Hathaway agent for seven years and was recently honored as one of America’s Top 100 Real Estate Agents® by America’s Top 100, LLC.

America’s Top 100 is an invitation-only membership organization that recognizes outstanding professionals who have demonstrated excellence in their fields. America’s Top 100 Real Estate Agents® honors real estate professionals who have consistently sold properties above market value.

America’s Top 100 follows a multiphase selection process to identify candidates for membership. First, potential members are screened and analyzed with proprietary algorithms that take into account criteria such as the candidate’s aggregate annual sales, efficiency score for closing sales, customer satisfaction ratings, and awards.

Real estate agents and brokers who have passed the multiphase selection process have their headshots and bios posted on the America’s Top 100 Real Estate Agents® website, which is helpful to people searching for reputable agents. Agents and brokers also receive a complimentary plaque. 

Mistakes to Avoid When Selling a Home

A Berkshire Hathaway #1 Agent for five consecutive years, Dan Madrigal is a Kansas-based realtor with over 18 years of extensive experience in the real estate sphere. He has closed over 100 homes throughout his career. Dan Madrigal is committed to helping his clients sell their homes and finding their next dream home.

When it comes to selling a home, there are several mistakes homeowners make. One of them is choosing to sell their homes without the help of an agent. Realtors are a valuable asset to have around during the selling process. They know the terrain of the market and can easily navigate it to get the best deals for a property. Another common mistake is picking the wrong agent. While it is risky to sell without an agent, working with the wrong one can be disastrous. As such, It is good practice for homeowners to perform due diligence on realtors before hiring them.

Also, most homeowners fail to renovate their property adequately before the sale. Having all the nuts and bolts of a house in place before selling greatly improves the chances of getting a good deal. Overestimating the price of a home and letting emotions get in the way of the sale are other common mistakes homeowners make.

 

The Early 1950s VW Bus That Defined a New Minivan Category

Dan Madrigal is a Wichita, Kansas real estate agent who emphasizes a proactive, client-first approach to serve customers at Berkshire Hathaway. Passionate about vintage VW busses, Dan Madrigal is working to restore four models from the late 1950s to the late 1970s.

The classic 1950-1959 VW bus invented an automotive category later known as the minivan. The initial model, the Transporter, took its floorplan from the Beetle that includes a 94.5-inch wheelbase, with the track extended by seven inches to 53.5 inches. With the entire box-shaped vehicle having a body 8.5 inches longer than the Beetle, the engine retained the Beetle’s rear-mounted, 25 horsepower boxer model.

A benefit of the low, rear-mounted engine was that it maximized interior space and provided significantly more passenger room than station wagons of the era. While never a fast ride, the VW Bus was reliable, inexpensive, and maneuverable. Carrying as many as nine passengers, the vehicle proved popular enough to be widely introduced in the United States starting in 1954.

Virtual Staging is Helping People Get Their Homes “Screen-Ready”

Wichita, Kansas-based Realtor Dan Madrigal has been the Berkshire Hathaway #1 agent for his company for five years in a row. Dan Madrigal was also recognized in the Wall Street Journal as one of the nation’s top salesmen and is the most-reviewed real estate agent in Wichita on Zillow.

One of the most important parts of selling a home is making it look appealing to the buyer. That can be a big expense if the home is empty but virtual staging technology is making the process a lot simpler and less expensive. Virtual staging allows agents to add furniture, paint, and other accessories to a home that is entirely vacant using imaging technology.

Listing a vacant home with no furnishings is a lot less impactful and has a reduced “screen appeal” for online browsers. However, furnishing a home is not always an option since there are budgetary and time constraints usually linked to a sale. Virtual staging is an effective way to get all the benefits of physical staging with a fraction of the investment. Of course, physical staging still has a place with buyers that visit the home in person.

The VW Buses’ Road to Popularity in the US

Recognized among the highest-rated Realtors in Wichita, Kansas, Dan Madrigal leads the Madrigal Team Gold at Berkshire Hathaway. Outside of his professional responsibilities, Dan Madrigal owns four restored Volkswagen (VW) buses, which he takes to car shows.

German automaker Volkswagen entered the US markets in the 1950s with its iconic VW Beetle. Although initially accepted by American consumers with tepidity because of its Nazi connections, the VW Beetle eventually became a top seller among imported autos in America. In March 1950, Volkswagen expanded its product line by producing a microbus, which was officially known as VW Type 2.

The concept of the VW bus was invented by Ben Pon, a Dutch importer of Beetles to the Netherlands, who produced the earliest sketches of a small bus. In 1947, Volkswagen engineers developed the idea into a “boxy, utilitarian, rear-engine” vehicle.

The VW bus became known for many nicknames, such as Transporter, Combi (short for the combined-use vehicle), and Splittie (referring to its split windshield). For Americans, the VW bus became known as hippie van since it was used by youth groups in transporting their camping gears and supplies to anti-war rallies and concerts. Throughout the 1960’ the VW bus became an icon for the counterculture movement in America.