How long does it take to be pre-approved for a home loan?

Before starting your home search, getting pre-approved for a mortgage helps determine your borrowing power and strengthens your position when making an offer. Without pre-approval, you won’t know exactly how much you can afford, making property searches more difficult. Pre-approval allows borrowers to start narrowing down real estate listings within their budget.

On average, home loan pre-approval takes 1 to 3 business days, but this depends on your lender and financial situation. Some online lenders may provide quick, conditional approvalswithinminutes or hours, but a full pre-approval requires additional verification steps. A traditional bank might take longer, often requiring thorough credit and financial checks before issuing pre-approval. However, keep in mind that a pre-approval doesn't guarantee that the lender will approve you for a loan. Once you select a property, the lender will reassess your financial position and ensure the property meets their lending criteria before granting final approval.

Getting pre-approval specifically may take several business days, but also depends on the time it takes you to complete the stages before you submit your mortgage application.

There are around six stages of getting a home loan, each with varying timeframes based on your personal financial situation and documentation:

Once you’ve researched your ideal home loan and gathered your personal documentation, you should hopefully receive pre-approval for your mortgage. But it’s important to note that pre-approval does not last forever.

Generally speaking, pre-approval may last around two to three months, depending on your lender. This is for your benefit as well as the lenders, as the property market may fluctuate in this time, and you could be approved for more debt than you need if a property decreases in value.

This means that your pre-approval may expire, and you may need to go through the process again. If your pre-approval expires and you’re working with a broker, they may be able to fast-track your application process as the documents should still all be ready to go.

Getting approved for a home loan can be an overwhelming and often time-consuming process. If you’re feeling like you need a helping hand, it may be worth considering if a mortgage broker could offer some relief. RateCity may be able to help you find a qualified broker in your area to offer mortgage advice today.