The Difference Between Pre-Approval and Pre-Qualification

Sometimes when people are in the process of buying a property, they send us a pre-qualification letter instead of a pre-approval letter because they don’t know the difference between the two. Today, we’re joined by Ty Smith from Envoy Mortgage to help clear the air regarding these two terms.  

The basic difference is that a pre-qualification involves you filling out an application and the lender looking at a credit report. Whatever information you give the mortgage lender over the phone or online is what they use to pre-qualify you.  

If you were to go out and start looking at properties, you would want to get pre-approved instead of pre-qualified because the pre-qualification process can have unintended complications. A person might include on their pay information, for example, that they work 20 hours of overtime a month, and then use their most recent paycheck as proof of that on their application.

If you’re a buyer, pre-approval is the better option.

Lenders, however, average overtime pay over a period of two years, so that person’s average overtime may only amount to five hours per month. If that person were to then write a contract and give the lender their pay information, it could decrease their income by 5% to 10%. This could not only disqualify them, but they also wouldn’t be reimbursed for things they’ve already paid for, like the inspection fee.

A pre-approval allows lenders to look at your income and assets. Mortgage loans today are underwritten with very strict guidelines, and there is a lot of compliance that goes into it. There is some income that a lender won’t be able to use, so it’s important that they get an opportunity to look at that information up front so they can address the issue before you go under contract or make an offer. That will shorten the time you spend in underwriting and make your offer stronger. A pre-approval also says on it that the lender has reviewed your income, assets, and credit.

A pre-approval is clearly the better option. If you can’t get pre-approved, however, at least get the pre-qualification letter. That way a lender has already looked at the credit and you can start the buying process.