Lenders consider your credit history and current financial information to determine whether you can be preapproved for a mortgage.
If you’re preapproved, you receive a mortgage letter with the loan amount for which you qualify. Each preapproval letter is valid for up to 90 days. A mortgage preapproval letter lets you start making offers on homes.
Getting pre-qualified is different from getting preapproved for a mortgage. Mortgage pre-qualification is a less formal process that gives you a general idea of how much of a loan you are eligible for.