Do I have to have pre-approval letter just to see the property?

I guess the realtor does not want to waste time if you are not qualified to purchase the house. You are in competition with other purchasers and when it comes time for the seller to make a decision, it is in your best interest to be able to present them with the pre-approval letter. I dont know if all realtors are looking for the pre-approval, but you will go to the head of the cl if you have one. The only other way is to go to open houses without a realtor. Eventually, you are going to need a pre-approval letter. The other good thing about running the credit, is that you know exactly what is going on with your credit, and if there is a problem or something you did not know about, you are finding out now, so you can clear it up, before you find the house of your dreams and someone else has a clear pre approval. It is really not a big deal, you can get one in a day or two. We had one drawn up for us, just for that purpose.