Does the Pre-Qualification guarantee that I will get the loan?

A pre-qualification letter, supplied by the mortgage broker not the lender, does not guarantee that you will get the loan, but it does raise the probability. First, it helps ensure that you are looking for the loan and the house that will be the best fit with your financial abilities. It is an estimate of what you could qualify for. Second, it gives you a vote of confidence with both the seller and the lender. It tells them that you are a viable home buyer and that you are working with a professional. Third, it pre-determines guidelines for an appropriate offer when you begin negotiations. It tells you how much you could offer.

Before you are able to obtain a mortgage loan, you will complete a loan application, which will include a formal verification process . Some buyers go so far as to complete the loan application process first and get pre-approval. But even a pre-approval is subject to certain conditions being met, such as obtaining a home appraisal or meeting certain date obligations. Also, such changes as a decline in your financial position or rising interest rates could affect the final loan approval.

The pre-qualification process is a more informal assessment, simply determining whether the buyer appears to qualify for a certain amount based on given information. However, there are some things that you can do to improve the impact of your pre-qualification letter. For example, a bad credit report can disqualify you for a loan. If you instruct your mortgage broker to run a credit check and state in the pre-qualification letter that it was run and found acceptable, your prequalification letter will hold more weight.