This is the second installment in an ongoing series on mortgage basics. On my mortgage website, I cover a host of topics on my frequently asked questions page. Since this is the most popular page on my site, I thought it might be a nice way to begin my blog. You can find the entire list of FAQs here: I will continue this series covering one topic per post.

What is the difference between a prequalification and a preapproval?

Prequalification and preapproval are terms that are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. A prequalification is simply a loan officer reviewing your credit report and a few documents and guessing your loan would probably be approved by an underwriter. This can be problematic, especially if the loan officer isn't doing their job or has missed something. For this reason, prequalifications hold only a small amount of weight with sellers and Realtors on both the buying side and listing side. I'll happily offer prequalifications and can usually complete them the same business day while we wait for your preapproval.

A preapproval is a prospective loan that has gone to an underwriter and actually been approved. This means both the loan officer and the underwriter (the person who makes official decisions on a loan for lenders) have reviewed the information and the borrower's eligibility meets that lender's standards for approval. This is a very powerful tool for a buyer. At Movement Mortgage, we will fully underwrite a loan without an address. This approval would then only require a clean title report and satisfactory appraisal, both of which hinge upon the property itself. As a seller, this is as good as a cash offer because those two items would typically be required regardless of whether the buyers had financing or not.

We provide preapprovals at no charge and they are on the same timeframe as any other loan (averaging less than 7 days to clear to close). Call, chat or email me today and we can get started!