What is a Mortgage Pre-Approval? How to Get One in 10 Minutes

Are you ready to buy a house but not sure how much you can afford?

Don’t start house shopping without a set budget – it can lead to frustration and wasted time.

To know what’s in your price range and shop smart, you need a mortgage pre-approval letter.

What’s a Mortgage Pre-approval? 

The pre-approval is a letter that proves a bank or lender vetted your credit and you’re eligible for a home mortgage.

Because you’ve taken care of the preliminary steps towards loan approval, when you find a home you want, the pre-approval can fast track the loan and closing process.

Pre-qualified and pre-approved are not the same thing. When you are pre-qualified, it means you’ve had an informational meeting with a lender.

Based on what you tell them they estimate how much you might be able to borrow.

Pre-approval means a lender formally evaluated you for a mortgage.

Don’t Trust Just Any Mortgage Affordability Calculator 

There are lots of home affordability calculators online that look at your income, debt, and down payment to tell you what you can afford.

These are over-simplified and rarely reflect what you can afford – and what you would be approved for by a mortgage lender.

Pre-approval letters are much more accurate, and you can get one fast if you know the best solution.

With Get A Rate, you can get started in less than eight minutes and be ready to shop for your home with no delays.

The Get A Rate rapid pre-approval process goes like this:

• You self-report your income, assets, and property information
• We pull your credit and verify your data using bank-level security
• Our technology matches you with the best mortgage option for you
• You get the pre-approval letter for free with no commitment to take the loan

How a Mortgage Pre-Approval Helps You

When you’re looking for a home, particularly in today’s competitive market, having a mortgage pre-approval letter in hand can give you an edge over the competition because:

• It shows you’re serious about buying a home
• It demonstrates that you’re prepared to move fast
• It proves you can afford the offer you made
• It means you can close on the property soon

Pre-approval letters are good for a limited time – just 60 days – but you can get a subsequent pre-approval if yours expires while you’re still shopping.

You can also get an amended pre-approval letter for a lower amount to match an offer if you don’t want the seller to know what your loan limits are.

When you’re ready to secure a mortgage pre-approval letter to get serious about buying a home, come to Get A Rate for a rapid pre-approval in about ten minutes – or call (888) 562-2611.