A lender's written commitment to loan you a specific amount, based on a credit pull and document verification. Sellers take pre-approved offers seriously. Lasts 60-120 days typically.
A pre-approval is the lender's actual commitment, in writing, to loan you up to a certain amount under specific terms. Unlike a pre-qualification, this involves a real credit pull, document verification (income, assets, debts), and an underwriter's review.
The output is a pre-approval letter you can hand to a real estate agent and submit with offers. Sellers strongly prefer offers with pre-approval letters — they signal that financing is unlikely to fall through. In competitive markets, you basically can't get a serious offer accepted without one.
Pre-approvals are typically valid for 60–120 days. After that, you may need to refresh the credit pull and update your docs. Your final loan approval still depends on the home you choose (appraisal, title work), but the financial side is essentially done.
Example
You apply for pre-approval with Benchmark, submit your pay stubs and W-2s, the lender pulls credit and verifies $50K in savings. You receive a letter approving you for up to $380K at a 6.5% rate. You start house-hunting with that letter in hand.
Also known as
preapproval, mortgage preapproval, conditional preapproval
Source:
CFPB