Pre-Approval vs. Loan Commitment
One
of the most misunderstood item in the mortgage process is the difference
between a “pre-approval”
(sometimes referred to as “pre-qualification”
or “preliminary loan approval”)
and a "loan commitment".
Knowing the differences between the two will help you avoid unpleasant
surprises when you are in the process of obtaining a mortgage loan.
It
is important for
consumers to understand that for most mortgage loans, the lender will verify various items
about you and the property before the lender will provide the mortgage loan
(Note - there are loan programs that do not require verification of income
and/or assets, but these programs usually have higher interest rates).
The verification process includes such items as your income, employment history, assets, credit
record, the value and condition of the property, and the status of title to the
property. The verification of a particular
item can take on many forms. For example, verification of income could be
performed via your tax returns, pay stubs, W-2s, and/or a letter from your
employer.
The
typical process followed by most mortgage lenders is to first perform a pre-approval.
With this process, the lender will take a loan application and obtain a credit
report. The information in the application and the credit report are analyzed by
the lender, and then the lender will issue a decision (either verbally or in
writing) on whether or not you are qualified for the loan. The pre-approval
will state that you are qualified for the loan subject to verification of
certain items. Thus, it is important to note that the only item that has been
verified is your credit history via the credit report.
The
next step is the verification process. During this process, the information on the application
is verified (i.e. income, employment, assets, etc.), the property appraisal is
ordered, and the title search is ordered. Once these activities
are completed, the lender can then issue a loan commitment.
Do
most pre-approvals result in loan
commitments?
Assuming the lender is diligent during the pre-approval process, yes.
However, it is not uncommon for a consumer to receive a pre-approval and then find out later that the pre-approval
was subject to conditions the consumer could not meet, thus prohibiting them
from receiving the loan, or forcing them to accept a loan at a higher interest
rate or lower loan amount.
Consumers
need to be particularly aware of lenders that promote “loan approval in 24
hours” or other similar claims. What
these lenders are really saying (and let’s hope they are not trying to be
deceptive) is pre-approval in
24 hours. In fact, most lenders should be able to provide a pre-approval
in 24-48 hours. But remember – until the information is verified, you do not
have a loan commitment.
Now,
there is nothing wrong with obtaining a pre-approval.
This is an important first step in obtaining a mortgage loan.
A pre-approval is
particularly important when the loan will be used to purchase a home, as it
provides you with a good indication of the loan amount you can receive (and thus
the price range of a house you can purchase). But keep in mind, your ultimate
objective is to obtain a loan commitment.
As
a consumer, what can you do? We suggest the following:
-
Simply understanding the difference between a pre-approval and a loan commitment is key. If a lender says you are approved for a loan and you have not yet
supplied any documentation to verify your assets, income, and/or employment,
recognize that the lender is really saying you are pre-approved for a loan.
At Reed Mortgage,
in
most cases we provide a preliminary loan approval in less than 24 hours, and for
many loan applications the preliminary loan approval will be provided in less
than 1 hour.
And we issue a written Loan Commitment
Letter
when your loan is
approved.
© 1999 Reed Mortgage Corporation. All
rights reserved.
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