Home loan pre-approval is based on the ability to repay a loan for a specific amount based on your financial position, and it lasts for 3 months.
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.
Unlike prequalification, preapproval is a more specific estimate of what you could borrow from your lender and requires documents such as your W2, recent pay stubs, bank statements and tax returns. The lender will then use these documents to determine exactly how much you can be preapproved to borrow.
This will involve a valuation of the property by the lender, sorting insurance for the property and finalising the contract of sale. The lender will also need to verify that your circumstances have not changed before granting the final approval.
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.
Buyers are denied after pre-approval because they increase their debt levels beyond the lender's debt-to-income ratio parameters. The debt-to-income ratio is a percentage of your income that goes towards debt. When you take on new debt without an increase in your income, you increase your debt-to-income ratio.
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.
When you're pre-approved for a loan, it means the lender provisionally agrees to lend you the money, based on the preliminary information you give them. It doesn't mean you are guaranteed to get the loan. Final approval for the loan will be subject to a hard credit check and other final checks.
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.
It's not a guarantee, but it's a good sign. Preapproval, on the other hand, is more official. If you've truly been preapproved for a credit card, you're almost certain to get it if you apply.
The pre-approval typically requires a hard credit inquiry, which decreases a buyer's credit score by five points or less.
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.
You can make an offer on a house that goes beyond what your preapproval letter will cover, but you will be expected to make up the difference out of pocket. If you can't increase the size of your down payment, then you can't make an offer that goes beyond your preapproval.
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.
Even though you might be earning the same money (or MORE) some banks will decline your loan after your pre-approval if you have recently switched jobs. This is because (some) banks want to see you in your role for at least 6 months, and don't like it if you have a history of lots of jobs over the short term.
Getting pre-qualified or pre-approved for a credit card doesn't guarantee approval. Pre-qualification and pre-approval for credit cards both typically involve soft inquiries, which don't affect credit scores. But an official application involves hard inquiries, which do affect scores.
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.
Does getting a prescreened pre-approved offer hurt your credit? The short answer is: No. That's because a prescreened pre-approval involves a soft inquiry, which doesn't affect your credit scores. The prescreen soft inquiry is simply a way for lenders to determine if you may qualify for their credit card offer.
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.
An initial credit inquiry during the pre-approval process. A second pull is less likely, but may occasionally occur while the loan is being processed. A mid-process pull if any discrepancies are found in the report. A final monitoring report may be pulled from the credit bureaus in case new debt has been incurred.
Once you've received pre-approval for your home loan, you'll need to find the property that you want to make an offer on. From there, the time it takes for your lender to perform their own valuation of the property and then offer unconditional approval will be 1-2 weeks, if everything is in order.
The short answer to your question is that a mortgage pre-approval can be cancelled if your personal or financial circumstances change. Your pre-approval is conditional and based on the information you provide the lender. If that information changes, your pre-approval is subject to cancellation.
A pre-approved offer will be sent out after a soft inquiry indicates that you're a good prospect for additional credit. If you apply based on the offer, the lender may make a hard inquiry before issuing the credit. A soft inquiry has no impact on your credit rating.