What is a mortgage pre-approval?

A lender's verified read on what you can borrow, issued before you have found a house. Here is what that actually means.

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In short

What it isA verified qualificationIncome and assets checked

What it is notA commitment to lendFinal approval comes later

How longAbout 90 seconds hereOne to three days elsewhere

Valid for60 to 90 daysThen reissued with fresh data

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At a glance

What the letter is and is not

90sTo get oneVerified, not estimated

60-90Days validThen reissued

0Credit inquiriesAt this stage

NotA commitment to lendFinal approval comes later

A mortgage pre-approval is a lender's assessment of how much you can borrow, based on income, assets and credit position that have been checked rather than stated.

The checks behind it are the same ones an underwriter runs: credit score, debt-to-income ratio, income stability and the reserves left after closing. The word that confuses people is pre. It does not mean provisional. It means the check happened before you found a property, so the only thing left is the house itself.

Where pre-approval sits

Three stages people often confuse

Only the middle stage gives you a letter you can attach to an offer.

Where it sits

Prequalification, pre-approval, final approval

Three different things that get called the same thing.

Prequalification, pre-approval and final approval compared
Stage	Based on	Property involved	Weight with a seller
Prequalification	Figures you state yourself	No	Limited
Pre-approval	Verified income and assets	No	Strong
Final approval	Full underwriting	Yes, with an appraisal	Comes after the offer

Scroll sideways to see all columns.

The middle one is the letter you carry while you shop. The full comparison →

Why it matters

What a pre-approval actually gets you

You find out your real number

Guessing at a price and being told a different one by a lender is how people fall for houses they cannot finance.

Agents will show you homes

Many will not book viewings without a letter. It filters out browsers.

You can act the same day

Good listings go fast. Without a letter you cannot write a serious offer.

Sellers take you seriously

In a multiple-offer situation, financing strength sits next to price.

Find out your number

No credit check at this stage, so checking costs you nothing.

Get pre-approved

Being clear

What it does not do

It does

Show a lender-ready view of verified income and assets
Give you a letter you can attach to an offer
Name a maximum you can be reissued against at any lower price

It does not

Commit any lender to funding your loan
Lock an interest rate
Say anything about a property, which has not been appraised yet
Survive a big change to your income, debts or job

Common misreading

Three things a pre-approval is often mistaken for

It is not a loan offer. No rate is locked and no lender has committed anything. The rate you eventually get is set later, when you lock it against a specific property.

It is not a budget. The number on the letter is a ceiling set by program rules, not advice about what you should spend. Plenty of buyers qualify for considerably more than they would be comfortable paying.

It is not permanent. It reflects your finances on the day it was issued. New debt, a job change or a credit event moves it, which is why nothing should change between the letter and the keys.

The full guide to what it does commit to.