How to use SearchPro (B1124-002)

SearchPro is Padzilly's advanced search tool designed to help buyers find homes that match their unique financial profiles. By applying real-world loan approval parameters, SearchPro enables buyers to search for properties based on their pre-approved mortgage limits, payment preferences, and available funds, offering unparalleled flexibility. Here's a step-by-step guide to using SearchPro effectively:

Step 1: Set Up Your Buyer Investment Profile (BIP)

To begin using SearchPro, you'll need to create your Buyer Investment Profile (BIP), which includes:

• Desired Mortgage Payment Limit: The maximum monthly payment you’re comfortable with.

• Available Funds Limit: The total cash available for down payments, closing costs, and other expenses.

These figures are used as your initial search filters. Padzilly applies basic FHA and Conventional loan guidelines to show homes that fit within your BIP, even before a lender uploads your loan approval.

If you already have a lender approval, they can upload it into Padzilly through LoanLink, allowing SearchPro to apply your real loan parameters for a more accurate search.

Step 2: Apply Filters to Your Home Search

SearchPro offers all the basic filters you expect from a real estate search engine, such as location, number of bedrooms, square footage, and more. However, Padzilly goes beyond traditional search functions by allowing you to filter properties based on real financial data:

• Payment Filter: Click the "Payment" button to filter homes that fit within your monthly mortgage payment limit.

• Cash Filter: Use the "Cash Needed" filter to see homes that meet your total available funds, including down payments, closing costs, and other expenses.

These filters ensure you only see homes you can afford based on your current financial situation or loan approval.

Step 3: Adjust the Down Payment Slider

In SearchPro, you can adjust the down payment slider to explore how increasing your down payment impacts the types of homes available. This feature is particularly useful if you have flexibility in your available funds.

• Increase the Down Payment: If you have more funds, you can increase your down payment to qualify for a higher-priced home or reduce your monthly payment. This can also help eliminate mortgage insurance, giving you more financial freedom.

• Down Payment Limits: SearchPro starts with the minimum down payment allowed for FHA or Conventional loans. You cannot reduce the down payment below this threshold.

Step 4: Customize Your Search with Offer Adjustments

SearchPro allows you to customize your search by applying various financial adjustments to the properties you're interested in:

• Sale Price Variations: You can apply a percentage reduction or increase to the list price. Padzilly recalculates the financials based on your adjusted price, not just the asking price.

• Seller Contributions: Use the seller contribution slider to simulate scenarios where the seller offers to contribute toward closing costs. SearchPro will automatically adjust the total cash needed and monthly payment based on the seller’s contribution.

These adjustments give you the power to explore multiple offer scenarios, just like a mortgage loan officer would when tailoring an offer for a specific property.

Step 5: View Homes That Meet Your Criteria

Once you've applied your filters and adjustments, SearchPro displays a list of homes that meet your financial limits. Each property card shows the monthly payment and total cash needed to buy, based on the parameters you've set, including any adjustments you've made to the sale price, down payment, and seller contributions.

You can also save favorite properties and compare them side by side by selecting or deselecting each property card.

Step 6: Refine Your Search with Loan Officer Parameters

If your lender has uploaded their loan approval through LoanLink, you can further refine your search using your actual loan approval parameters. These parameters include county loan limits, guideline-compliant seller contributions, and any down payment assistance programs that apply to your loan.

By applying your real loan approval, SearchPro ensures you only see homes that you qualify for, providing the most accurate payment and cash-to-close estimates for each property.

SearchPro is designed to make your home search as seamless and financially accurate as possible. By combining traditional search filters with real loan approval parameters and financial adjustments, Padzilly gives you the power to find homes that truly fit your budget. Whether you're searching based on your BIP or your lender's loan approval, SearchPro helps you focus on the homes that you qualify for, saving you time and reducing frustration.

For more detailed guidance on how to adjust offer scenarios and filter homes by loan parameters, visit our dedicated help pages:
How to Use OfferPro
How to Filter Homes Based on Loan Parameters