Does a pre-approval guarantee I will get the mortgage?

No. It is conditional on an accepted offer, a satisfactory appraisal, the property meeting lender criteria, and your finances staying the same. Final approval comes after you have a specific home under contract.

How long does a pre-approval last?

Most pre-approvals and their rate holds last 90 to 120 days. If you have not bought within that window, you can usually renew the pre-approval with updated documents.

Will getting pre-approved hurt my credit score?

A pre-approval involves a hard credit check, which can dip your score slightly. Multiple mortgage inquiries in a short period are generally treated as one for scoring purposes, so shopping around has limited impact.

Mortgage Glossary

What is Pre-Approval?

A mortgage pre-approval is a lender's conditional commitment to lend you up to a set amount at a quoted rate, based on a review of your income, debts, and credit before you shop for a home. It tells you your price range and usually holds a rate for 90 to 120 days. It is conditional, not a final mortgage approval.

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Quick answer

Also known as: mortgage pre-approval, preapproval

Key points

Conditional commitment stating your maximum mortgage and a held rate.
Rate is typically locked for 90 to 120 days against increases.
Stronger than a pre-qualification, which is only a rough estimate.
Final approval still needs an accepted offer, appraisal, and re-verification.
Helps you set a budget and makes your offer more credible to sellers.

Pre-Approval explained

Pre-approval is the lender's early assessment of how much you can borrow. The lender reviews your income, employment, existing debts, credit score, and down payment, then states a maximum mortgage amount and a rate it will hold for a fixed period, commonly 90 to 120 days. This rate hold protects you if rates rise while you search, and the dollar figure sets a realistic budget before you start viewing homes.

A pre-approval is conditional. Final approval still requires an accepted offer on a specific property, an appraisal, confirmation that the home meets the lender's criteria, and verification that your finances have not changed. It is stronger than a quick pre-qualification, which is only a rough estimate, but it is not a guarantee that the mortgage will fund.

What a Pre-Approval is for

Pre-approval exists to give buyers a firm budget and to signal to sellers that an offer is serious. It establishes your maximum purchase price, locks a rate against increases during your search, and surfaces any credit or documentation problems early, while there is still time to fix them. In competitive markets, sellers often expect a pre-approval before considering an offer.

How it can help you

Getting pre-approved means you shop with confidence, avoid falling in love with homes you cannot finance, and can move quickly when you find the right one. It also exposes issues like a thin credit file or a debt-service ratio that is too high before they cost you a deal. Because lenders set different limits and rates for the same borrower, Lenderoo lets you compare pre-approval offers across 40+ lenders for free so you can find your true maximum and best rate hold.

When it comes up

A couple planning to buy in three months gets pre-approved for $520,000 at a held rate. They learn one partner's car loan is trimming their borrowing power, pay it down, and lift their approval. When they find a home, their accepted offer is taken seriously because they can show a current pre-approval, and they close inside the rate-hold window.

Example: how a rate hold protects you

You get pre-approved for a $450,000 mortgage with a rate held for 120 days. Two months later, market rates rise by 0.5%.

Because your rate was locked at pre-approval, your held rate still applies when you buy, saving you the higher cost. On a $450,000 mortgage amortized over 25 years, a 0.5% rate increase could add roughly $120 to a monthly payment, so the hold can be worth well over a thousand dollars across the term before your first renewal.