HOW TO GET PRE-APPROVED FOR A MORTGAGE

It's important to get pre-approved for a mortgage, especially if you are planning on buying your first home.
Getting pre-qualified is not the same as getting pre-approved. For more information about the differences between the two, read on!

When you get pre-qualified, a mortgage underwriter from a major bank or financial institution may look at your credit score and income information to estimate what you qualify for. They will not require you to provide documentation of proof such as proof of assets and liabilities, proof of income (pay stubs), proof of down payment (bank statements) and documents to prove your credit score.
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Getting pre-qualified is very basic and informal, since all it truly means is that the bank or financial institution may consider you for a mortgage at their discretion. Although people often refer to this as "being approved" because the bank agrees to look at your file, nothing really happens after your file is "looked at".

Pre-approved means a mortgage underwriter has reviewed your application in detail and has issued a guaranteed approval and an interest rate for 120 days.

Pre-Approvals And Your Credit Score

Does Getting A Mortgage Pre-Approval Hurt Your Credit Score?

Checking your credit score is considered a hard hit and may affect your credit score, but not by much. Any inquiry to your credit will stay on your credit report for up to 36 months. Any other lender or creditor who looks in your file will see the inquiry.

It's important to consider that when you use a mortgage broker, we can use the same credit inquiry for 30 days no matter which lenders we inquiry with and it will not impact your score. You won't have to worry about your credit score being pulled multiple times.  You can also pull your own credit score through Credit Karma, Transunion or Equifax, without any impact to your score whatsoever.

Get Pre-Approved