Getting Pre-Qualified

1. A pre-qualification acts as a dry run of the loan application process. The mortgage lender will use details you provide about your credit, income, assets and debt to arrive at an estimate of how much mortgage you can afford. The whole process may take only minutes or a few hours at most, and is free.

2. While a "pre-qual" is non-binding to the lender (because the information you provide has not been verified), it does serve as a good indication of your creditworthiness and is the precursor to a pre-approval.

3. Sellers will not accept an offer without a pre-approval letter. If you are serious about buying, this is the first step towards getting you in your new home.