Are you looking to buy a house that would normally be out of your budget range? Do you consider yourself a bit of a risk-taker and willing to put in some hard work to make a house a home? Can you complete your due diligence and come up with a ready pile of cash? If you answered yes to these questions, you might want to consider buying a house at auction. It’s not a decision for the faint of heart, but the result could lead to the house of your dreams for significantly lower than market value.

What does conditionally approved mean? Conditional approval is an important step on your way to verified approval. It’s not the final step, but it shows you have gone through the underwriting process, are in the midst of finalizing things with your loan officer, and have been granted an amount you can borrow to buy your new home. It also puts you in a stronger bargaining position when you make an offer on a house — it sets you apart from buyers who have only gained pre-approval, and shows you only have a few more steps to go to achieve final mortgage approval.