When purchasing a home on loan, one can first use a home loan calculator to determine the amount of loan that he or she is eligible for. A home loan affordability calculator, however, does not consider your current financial situation and only collects limited information about your finances.
A home loan pre-approval is the next step for someone looking to finance a home. Pre-approval figures are more closely related to the amount of loan and interest that you are eligible for. Home loan pre-approvals give you a slight advantage when purchasing a home because they use a soft credit check to assess your current financial situation.
A home loan pre-approval can inform you of the amount you are likely to qualify for, as well as the interest rate, deposit, and repayment period. With this information, your chances of getting a home loan approved by a lender are very good.
A home loan pre-approval has an expiration date because it does not last forever. It can last anywhere from 10 days to 6 months after the results are released. If you have been pre-approved for a home loan, you need to take action and apply for the loan.
Before delving deeper into how a home loan pre-approval works, let’s first define the term to see what it entails.
What is a home loan pre-approval?
A home loan pre-approval is a creditworthiness assessment performed by lenders. A soft credit check is required to determine the amount of a home loan and the estimated payable interest that one can qualify for. Home loan pre-approval is not a loan; it simply determines whether a potential home loan applicant can qualify for one.
The interest rate and loan amount granted by a financial institution after applying for a home loan may differ. As a result, after submitting an application, the actual home loan granted may be lower or higher.
Home loan pre-approval is essential for all home buyers because it gives them an idea of what will happen if they apply for a real home loan. A pre-approval will assist in applying for a more optimized loan that corresponds to one’s current income and expenses.
Does a home loan pre-approval expire?
A home loan pre-approval has an expiration period from the day on which it was issued. The expiration date of a home loan pre-approval can be 6 days, 15 days, 1 month, 3 months, or 6 months, depending on which lender was used to conduct the pre-approval.
One must check the expiration date for the pre-approval, as financial institutions usually list the date the pre-approval is valid. It is sensible to apply for a home loan that you qualify for immediately after being pre-approved for one.
The reason for the expiration of a pre-approval is due to changes in credit score, expenses, and income in the short term. Lenders want to provide a more realistic assessment of a person’s financial situation and determine whether or not the person qualifies for a home loan.
Even if a pre-approval is granted and a home loan application is submitted immediately, it does not guarantee that the home loan application will be approved. A home loan application can be approved or denied because other examinations are performed by a lender which are not included when pre-approving a client.
One can conclude that a home loan pre-approval is time-limited and does not guarantee loan approval. Before making an actual application, a pre-approval should be used as a guide to how much home loan you are likely to qualify for.
Since a pre-approval considers your credit score and performs a soft credit check, your credit score may decrease. When performing a pre-approval, one’s credit score does not decrease at the same rate as when performing an actual loan application.
Can a home loan pre-approval be renewed?
A home loan pre-approval renewal is possible because you can request another pre-approval after your current one expires. The first step is to confirm the expiration date of the pre-approval. A pre-approval is important because over 90% of people who apply for a home loan after a preapproval are approved for the actual loan.
Another pre-approval can be obtained by going to a lender’s website and requesting a home loan pre-approval. This will take the same time as the initial pre-approval. You will receive a new pre-approval even though your previous pre-approval hasn’t expired; however, if it has not expired, there is no need for a pre-approval as it can negatively affect your credit score.
In addition to visiting your bank’s website, you can contact your private banker or your bank for another pre-approval. This process will be much faster if you already bank with the bank from which you want pre-approval. Depending on the financial institution, this method can take minutes or days to obtain a pre-approval letter.
Make sure to update your information when renewing a home loan pre-approval. Salary, commissions, bonuses, expenses, and the amount of the deposit you want to commit should all be updated. This will provide a more recent assessment of one’s finances and a pre-approval based on current data rather than old data.
Conclusion
A home loan pre-approval has an expiration date and can be renewed once it has expired. It is critical to ensure that you have the correct information on your home loan application because the pre-approval reflects the amount of home loan that one can qualify for. When applying for a home loan pre-approval, make it a priority to provide accurate information because banks and other lenders do not confirm income and expense information when requesting a pre-approval.
