What to know before getting pre approved for a mortgage

Find out how much house you can borrow before you start looking – and how you can make the strongest offer possible on the property you choose.

If you’re ready to make your dream of owning a home a reality, you’ve probably already heard that you should consider getting prequalified or preapproved for a mortgage. It’s time to understand exactly what each of those terms means and how they might help you. And when you’re working toward a goal this big, you want every advantage.

Homebuyer tip:

You may qualify to borrow more money than you are comfortable spending on a home. But that doesn't mean you have to spend more. It's a good idea to limit your home search to houses priced at an amount you can comfortably afford. Explore the mortgage amount that best fits into your overall budget by using Bank of America's Home Affordability Calculator.

What is mortgage prequalification?

Prequalification is an early step in your homebuying journey. When you prequalify for a home loan, you’re getting an estimate of what you might be able to borrow, based on information you provide about your finances, as well as a credit check.

Prequalification is also an opportunity to learn about different mortgage options and work with your lender to identify the right fit for your needs and goals.

What is mortgage preapproval?

Preapproval is as close as you can get to confirming your creditworthiness without having a purchase contract in place. You will complete a mortgage application and the lender will verify the information you provide. They’ll also perform a credit check. If you’re preapproved, you’ll receive a preapproval letter, which is an offer (but not a commitment) to lend you a specific amount, good for 90 days.

Homebuyer tip:

Expect surprises! Lenders look at every detail of your finances when granting preapproval. You might be asked about a car loan payment you made with a credit card, for example. Be prepared to answer lender questions as soon as they come up.

Getting preapproved is a smart step to take when you are ready to put in an offer on a home. It shows sellers that you’re a serious homebuyer and that you can secure a mortgage – which makes it more likely that you’ll complete your purchase of the home.

How long does prequalification or preapproval take?

Aside from their distinct roles in homebuying, prequalification and preapproval can take different amounts of time. Prequalifying at Bank of America is a quick process that can be done online, and you may get results within an hour. For mortgage preapproval, you’ll need to supply more information so the application is likely to take more time. You should receive your preapproval letter within 10 business days after you’ve provided all requested information.

What information do I need to provide?

PREQUAL	PREAPPROVAL
Income information	Copies of pay stubs that show your most recent 30 days of income
Credit check	Credit check
Basic information about bank accounts	Bank account numbers or two most recent bank statements
Down payment amount and desired mortgage amount	Down payment amount and desired mortgage amount
No tax information required	W-2 statements and signed, personal and business tax returns from the past two years

Which is right for me?

First-time homebuyers are more likely to find that getting prequalified is helpful, especially when they are establishing their homebuying budget and want an idea of how much they might be able to borrow.

Preapproval can be extremely valuable when it comes time to make an offer on a house, especially in a competitive market where you might want to stand out among other potential buyers. Again, a seller will be more likely to consider you a serious buyer because you have had your finances and creditworthiness verified.

PREQUALIFICATION VS. PRE-APPROVAL COMPARISON

	PREQUAL	PREAPPROVAL
Benefits	You can start house-hunting knowing how much you might be able to borrow	You’ll be ready to make an offer with confidence—and gain a competitive advantage
Process	Provide basic information to a lender and quickly get a prequalification amount	After submitting documentation to a lender, you should receive a decision within 10 business days
Documentation	Answer questions for this process, plus a credit check	Provide proof of financial details, plus a credit check

For many homebuyers, getting preapproved for a mortgage is an essential part of the process. When you get preapproved, a lender says it’s willing to provide a mortgage for a stated maximum and at a stated interest rate.

Preapproval gives you an idea of how much money you can borrow, guiding your search for a home. It also shows sellers that you’re creditworthy and serious about buying, making your offers more appealing.

What is a mortgage preapproval?

A mortgage preapproval is a statement, usually a document or letter, of how much money a lender is willing to let you borrow to pay for a home. The preapproval indicates that the lender is prepared to move forward with the loan, as long as the home meets certain criteria and your financial situation doesn’t change drastically while you look for a home to purchase.

The preapproval is based on your financial profile, including your income, how much money you have in the bank and investment accounts and your debts. The lender performs a hard credit inquiry as part of the preapproval process, as well. With this information, the lender can make an informed estimate about how much house you can afford, and, if you qualify, can preapprove you for a certain loan amount.

Preapproval vs. prequalification

Preapproval and prequalification are similar terms, but different in key ways.

Prequalifying for a mortgage is a less strenuous process that gives you an idea of the loans you might be able to get. However, lenders usually only use a soft credit pull and don’t verify the information you provide.

Preapprovals require more underwriting and are more solid indications of your ability to get a mortgage than a prequalification. That makes them more useful when you’re looking to make an offer on a home and want to show sellers that you can afford the purchase.

Why should I get preapproved?

In today’s housing market, it will be difficult to get a seller to consider your offer unless you have a mortgage preapproval (unless you intend to pay all-cash). There are simply too many buyers for sellers to be willing to take a chance on one who hasn’t at least talked to a lender about getting a mortgage.

Another important reason to get preapproved: It gives you an idea of how much home you can afford based on how much money a lender is prepared to let you borrow. This can save you time during house hunting by eliminating properties out of your price range.

How to get preapproved for a mortgage

1. Choose a lender

The first thing you need to do is select a lender to get your preapproval from.

It’s in your best interest to shop around and find the lender offering the lowest rates and fees. Prequalifying with multiple lenders can be a good way to get quotes. Based on that information, you can choose which lender to move forward with.

You can also choose to get preapproved by multiple lenders. Just be ready to deal with the process multiple times.

2. Document submission

To get preapproved for a mortgage, you’ll need to supply documentation about your income, assets and debts. These documents typically include:

Pay stubs from at least the past 30 days
W-2s from the past two years
Proof of any other income sources (such as bonuses or commissions, child support or rental revenue)
Account statements, including checking, CDs and retirement savings, from at least the past two months
Documents detailing any loans you currently have, such as loan bills
Letters explaining any new loans you’ve received recently
Letters from anyone giving you a gift to use for a down payment
Court records if you’re recently divorced or dealt with something like bankruptcy or foreclosure
Contact info for your landlords if the lender wants to verify payment
ID (such as a driver’s license or passport – Lenders need to make sure they know who they’re giving their money to, so they’ll want to verify your identity and that you’re a U.S. citizen. Foreign nationals can get financing, but it’s much more complicated.

Those who are self-employed might also need to include information from business accounts and undergo an income audit. This might include asking an accountant to verify your income is stable by speaking with customers, reviewing business records, like P&L statements, or taking other steps. Your lender can let you know what’s required if you’re self-employed.

You’ll need to share this information with any lender you’re applying for a preapproval with, so it’s best to have it all organized before you start seeking offers.

3. Credit check

In addition to providing documentation, you’ll also have to agree to a credit check. Check your credit report before your lender does in case there are errors that could impact not only whether you get preapproved, but also your ability to get the best mortgage rate.

Under federal law, you’re entitled to a free copy of your credit report from each credit bureau once per year. These can be obtained at AnnualCreditReport.com.

During the credit check, the lender will look at your credit report and history to assess your credit utilization ratio, or the amount of credit you’re using relative to your total credit limit. The lower your credit utilization is, the better your chances of getting preapproved.

If you’re seeking a conventional mortgage, you’ll need a credit score of at least 620 to qualify. You might be able to get a mortgage preapproval with a lower score, however, and there are other loan programs, like FHA loans, that allow lower scores. The higher your score, however, the lower your interest rate.

4. Preapproval

Once the lender assesses your credit and financial profile, it’ll make a determination as to whether you’re preapproved for a mortgage and for what amount. If you’re preapproved, you’ll be issued a preapproval letter stating this information.

Many lenders use the “28/36” qualifying ratio to figure out what monthly payment you can afford. In general, lenders like to see a mortgage payment taking up no more than 28 percent of your gross monthly income, and your total debt payments (which includes credit cards, car loans and other debt in addition to your mortgage) accounting for no more than 36 percent of your gross monthly income.

When to get a mortgage preapproval

The best time to get a mortgage preapproval is before you start looking for a home. If you don’t, and you find a home you love, it’ll likely be too late to start the preapproval process if you want a chance to make an offer. As soon as you know you’re serious about buying a home — that includes getting your finances in home-buying shape — you should apply for a preapproval.

If you’re following mortgage rates, you can sign up for a Bankrate account to determine the right time to strike on your mortgage with our daily rate trends.

How long does it take to get preapproved?

Depending on the mortgage lender you work with and whether you qualify, you could get a preapproval in as little as one business day, but it usually takes a few days or even a week to receive — and, if you have to undergo an income audit or other verifications, it can take longer than that. In general, if you have your paperwork in order and your credit and finances look good, it’s possible to get a preapproval quickly.

How long does a preapproval last?

Many mortgage preapprovals are valid for 90 days, though some lenders will only authorize a 30- or 60-day preapproval.

If your preapproval expires, getting it renewed can be as simple as your lender rechecking your credit and finances to make sure there have been no major changes to your situation since you were first preapproved. Just keep in mind that this might count as another hard pull against your credit, dropping your score by a few points.

What does a preapproval letter include?

A preapproval letter includes your name, the price of the home you gave when requesting the preapproval, the loan amount you’re preapproved for and the expiration date of the preapproval.

Some lenders also include conditions related to the preapproval in the letter, such as it only applying to a single-family home instead of multi-family property.

Does preapproval affect your credit score?

Getting preapproved for a mortgage has an impact on your credit score. That’s because when lenders check your credit, they perform a hard inquiry, which can drop your score by a few points. The good news is that the effect is small, and gets even smaller as time passes: Hard inquiries come off your report entirely after two years.

If you’re planning to get a preapproval from more than one lender, aim to do it within a 45-day window to avoid more damage to your score than necessary. Inquiries within this time frame will be counted as one inquiry, instead of multiple.

Preapproval vs. approval

A preapproval is not a finalized offer; it’s one step on the path toward approval. One way to think of a preapproval versus an approval is the difference between a mechanic taking a quick look under the hood of your car and a mechanic doing a 100-point inspection.

To determine whether to fully approve and fund your loan, your lender will assess your application in the underwriting process, ensuring nothing about your financial situation has changed since you were preapproved. At this time, your lender will call your workplace to verify employment, evaluate the home you made an offer on and might ask for additional documentation, as well.

Even if you’re preapproved, it’s possible you could get denied for the loan if anything doesn’t check out. Once you’re fully approved for a loan, you’re ready to move forward with the closing.

What to do if you can’t get preapproved

If you can’t get a preapproval, ask the lender why you were denied. If it’s an issue you can remedy, like an error on your credit report that’s causing the lender to reject your application, you can address that right away and seek a preapproval again when it’s resolved.

If you credit score is too low or other financial roadblocks prevent you from being preapproved, you can work to improve those areas, too. Raise your score by making payments on time and paying down (or paying off) your debt load, for example, or lower your debt ratio by finding a way to increase your income. Depending on your situation, this could take time, but it’ll go a long way.

Some lenders have very stringent qualifying criteria, so another option is to work with a different, more flexible lender. If you’re an account holder with a local bank or member of a credit union, these institutions might be more willing to work with you to get you preapproved.

Is there a downside to getting pre

There are no downsides to getting pre-approved early. Going into the home buying process unprepared and uninformed is dangerous. A pre-approval will go a long way towards helping you understand the information that is truly important to you for buying a home. Get pre-approved for a mortgage today.

What do I need to know to get preapproved?

When you get preapproved, you may be required to provide information or documents like bank statements and pay stubs to prove your income and the funds you're using to get the loan. A preapproval will also require a hard credit check so your lender can get your credit score and see how much other debt you have.

Does a pre

Inquiries for pre-approved offers do not affect your credit score unless you follow through and apply for the credit. If you read the fine print on the offer, you'll find it's not really "pre-approved." Anyone who receives an offer still must fill out an application before being granted credit.

Is preapproval hard hit?

While yes, getting pre-approved for an auto loan does involve a “hard credit inquiry”, the impact on your credit score is minor. At most, the inquiry might knock your score down by a little bit, it's not a major hit and it's only temporary.