In the vast majority of cases, a pre-approval isn't fully assessed by the lender and often hasn't even been to their credit department or their lenders mortgage insurer! The lender is under no obligation to formally approve your loan when you find a property.
Because your lender is verifying your income and assets along with your credit history, a mortgage preapproval is a more accurate estimate of what you can afford. It also carries more weight with a real estate agent and the seller, because they'll know your lender verified that you can afford the home you wish to buy.
A mortgage preapproval can have a hard inquiry on your credit score if you end up applying for the credit. Although a preapproval may affect your credit score, it plays an important step in the home buying process and is recommended to have. The good news is that this ding on your credit score is only temporary.
A mortgage pre-approval affects a home buyer's credit score. The pre-approval typically requires a hard credit inquiry, which decreases a buyer's credit score by five points or less. A pre-approval is the first big step towards purchasing your first home.
A prequalification or preapproval letter is a document from a lender stating that the lender is tentatively willing to lend to you, up to a certain loan amount. This document is based on certain assumptions and it is not a guaranteed loan offer.
Getting pre-approved for a loan only means that you meet the lender's basic requirements at a specific moment in time. Circumstances can change, and it is possible to be denied for a mortgage after pre-approval. If this happens, do not despair.
It is possible to be pre-approved and unsuccessfully obtain the financing to buy your new home. The most problematic time for this to happen is right before closing. Denial before closing creates a lot of heartbreak and negative emotions.
Online pre-approvals do not affect your credit score
This is a great way to get an initial indication of the loan amount you will be eligible for. After you have received pre-approval and made an offer on a property, lenders will do a full credit check, which does leave an enquiry on your file.
This occurs when a lender is considering extending a line of credit to you. Hard inquiries show up on your credit report and can affect your credit scores. For example, if you apply for a pre-approval offer, it will trigger a hard inquiry, and you could see a dip in your credit scores.
Pre-approval is based on the buyer's FICO credit score, debt-to-income ratio (DTI), and other factors, depending on the type of loan.
Although ranges vary depending on the credit scoring model, generally credit scores from 580 to 669 are considered fair; 670 to 739 are considered good; 740 to 799 are considered very good; and 800 and up are considered excellent.
It's generally recommended that you have two to three credit card accounts at a time, in addition to other types of credit. Remember that your total available credit and your debt to credit ratio can impact your credit scores. If you have more than three credit cards, it may be hard to keep track of monthly payments.
For this reason, a mortgage preapproval typically lasts for 60 to 90 days. Once it expires, you'll need to connect with your lender again with your updated paperwork and apply for a new preapproval letter. The good news is, this typically doesn't take too much time since they have most of your information on file.
The drawbacks of getting your loan pre-approved are minimal, unless you have several pre-approvals in a short period of time, which could possibly damage your ability to borrow. Having multiple pre-approvals, one after the other—and with more than one lender—could give the impression that you are financially unstable.
While pre-approval means that you're more likely to have a loan approved, it doesn't provide an iron-clad guarantee. The following factors - among others - can affect whether a loan for which you've been pre-approved proceeds to final approval: Changes to your personal circumstances.
Similarly, if you pay off a credit card debt and close the account entirely, your scores could drop. This is because your total available credit is lowered when you close a line of credit, which could result in a higher credit utilization ratio.
Paying off debt can lower your credit score when: It changes your credit utilization ratio. It lowers average credit account age. You have fewer kinds of credit accounts.
You applied for a new credit card
Card issuers pull your credit report when you apply for a new credit card because they want to see how much of a risk you pose before lending you a line of credit. This credit check is called a hard inquiry, or “hard pull,” and temporarily lowers your credit score a few points.
In fact, you can — and should — get preapproved with multiple lenders. Many experts recommend getting at least three preapproval letters from three different lenders. Each mortgage lender will give you a unique offer with its own interest rates, loan amounts, origination fees, and other upfront closing costs.
Conclusion. In review, you can obtain two pre-approvals, but it is not recommended. The application process requires your credit score to be checked. Doing this too many times could negatively impact your credit score and lessen your chances of approval.
While a hard inquiry does impact your credit scores, it typically only causes them to drop by about five points, according to credit-scoring company FICO®. And if you have a good credit history, the impact may be even less.
It puts you on the fast track to closing.
Because most of your information is in the lender's system, a mortgage pre-approval accelerates the loan process once you make an offer.
It's important to note that pre-approved and pre-qualified offers do not guarantee that you'll ultimately be approved for a new credit card. They simply mean that you have met at least some of the criteria required for approval.
You will need to have your formal approval from the lender organised to finalise your home loan. This will require you to provide your lender or broker with documents including the signed contract of sale and any other additional documents the lender requested as a condition of your preapproval.