To get pre-approved, you give a loan officer permission to pull credit and provide income and asset documents. They verify everything against program guidelines and issue a letter stating the price and loan amount you're approved for. With documents ready, many pre-approvals are issued within one to two business days.
Document checklist
Everyone
- Government-issued photo ID
- Two most recent months of bank and investment statements, all pages
- Information on any other properties you own
W-2 employees
- Pay stubs covering the last 30 days
- W-2s for the last two years
Self-employed and 1099
- Two years of personal and business tax returns, or
- 12–24 months of bank statements for a bank statement loan
- Year-to-date profit-and-loss statement if requested
Retired
- Social Security and pension award letters
- Retirement account statements
Military and veterans
- Certificate of Eligibility (Kristen can request it)
- Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) for active duty
Steps
- Short call about goals and budget
- Credit review, with your permission
- Document upload through a secure link
- Program and lender match
- Pre-approval letter, updated for each offer
Never email Social Security numbers or full statements. Use the secure upload link you're sent.
Common questions
Does pre-approval hurt my credit?
A mortgage credit check is a hard inquiry. Multiple mortgage inquiries within a short window count as one for scoring, so you can compare lenders without repeated hits.
How long is a pre-approval good for?
Typically 60 to 90 days, because credit and documents must be current at closing. It can be refreshed with updated documents.