A buyer called me the other day and asked me, "Dan, what's the difference between pre-qualified and pre-approved?". They're really similar but here's the real difference: a pre-qualification is when you go to a lender and get into a conversation with them. You share your credit history, your payment history, your bills, how much money you make and what's your debt.
Based on all of that information, the lender then will give you a pre-qualification if you are qualified. That pre-qualification has to be reviewed.
The biggest difference between pre-qualification and pre-approval is that, the lender already sees documents to be able to support that approval.
Pre-approval is much stronger than a pre-qualification since the lenders are going through your pay stubs, your tax documents, etc. Once you are pre-approved, the lender's going to be able to lend you that money.
In both cases, you would need to go through some desktop underwriting. The lenders will ask you for some conditions or additional paperwork, but ultimately a pre-approval is what you want to do.
If you want to know more, I’m happy to help you out. Send me an email at Dan@greetingsvirginia.com or call me at 703-562-1788 and I’ll be glad to answer specific questions for you.
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