Institutional or registered lenders are often exempt from usury laws, individual, unregistered, private lenders are usually not exempt, check your state usury laws.Paying any fee to obtain a loan is considered points, points are pre-paid interest, points are paid to institutional or registered lenders, not individuals. 

So you should definitely pay them an hourly rate for all pre-purchase time they help you with.

Our market here in Greater Phoenix is one of the BEST and easiest markets to generate leads for pre-foreclosures. 

Any advice on how we can increase our pre-approval amount or what steps we should be focusing on over the next year? 

Rinse and repeat until I have a comfortable income.I did that  until I started doing creative finance which paid better with less risk.  

How long does it take you to provide a pre-approval letter?

I would call that an excellent investment.If you are borrowing, you should be hoping that expenses are paid for by revenues in the early going.

@Samuel Shemtov Get a pre-approval letter from a U.S. lender showing how much you qualify for, and share with the agent. 

Your terms do.Focus on:• proof of funds• clear repair contingency• clean timeline• fast closingThese speak louder than a pre-written offer.2.

They can also help with pre-move-in tasks like overseeing cleanings, showings, ongoing yard maintenance etc.