How to get a mortgage preapproval

Effective November 16, 2025, both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are removing the minimum credit score requirement from their conventional loan eligibility guidelines. Loan approval will instead be based on an evaluation of overall credit risk factors.

If you’re looking to get a mortgage to buy a home, the first step is getting preapproved. Mortgage preapproval from a lender can give you a rough idea of how much you’ll be able to borrow. Knowing roughly how much a lender is willing to loan you can help you set your house-hunting budget so you’re looking at homes in your price range.

Getting mortgage preapproval can also help set you apart from other buyers interested in the same properties. Here’s a rundown of how mortgage preapproval works, what’s required, and why it’s a key step in your path to homeownership.

What is a mortgage preapproval?

Mortgage preapproval is a statement from a lender that tells you how much they’re tentatively willing to loan you up to a certain amount. While it’s not the same as a guaranteed loan offer, it can help give you a ballpark range of how much home you can afford when you begin shopping for a home.

Having preapproval from a lender also shows sellers that you’re serious about buying and likely able to secure financing, which can help you compete with other buyers. In fact, many sellers require you to have preapproval before they will accept an offer you make on their home. In addition, many real estate agents won’t be willing to work with you until you’ve been preapproved for financing.

You can expect a preapproval letter to contain the following:

• Maximum loan amount
• Mortgage interest rate
• Loan program
• Loan term
• Total monthly mortgage payment

Keep in mind that mortgage preapproval is based on certain assumptions about your financing. Lenders will consider information you report about your financials – like your income, debts, credit score, and assets to determine your eligibility. This information impacts how much you’ll get preapproved for and what your interest rate might be.

Preapproval vs. prequalification

Preapproval and prequalification are both ways of understanding the loan amount you’ll be able to get approved for. There are some slight differences between these two processes, though some lenders use these terms interchangeably.

A mortgage prequalification is like a preapproval, but it’s often based on unverified, self-reported information about your finances. You tell a lender how much you make and what your credit score is, and they give you an estimate of how much they’ll be willing to loan you without pulling your credit.

Without your credit report, your lender can only give you rough estimates. This means the approval amount, loan program, and interest rate might change as the lender gets more information. Because a prequalification is an initial review of your finances, you usually don’t need to supply documentation - like bank statements, pay stubs, and tax returns.

A preapproval is more in-depth than a prequalification it typically requires supporting documentation and a hard credit check. You may be asked for bank statements, W-2 forms, pay stubs, and debt statements. This allows a lender to give you a more accurate idea of how much you’ll be able to borrow.

Preapproval vs. final approval

Mortgage preapproval can help you estimate how much you’ll be able to borrow based on your finances, but it’s not the same as final approval on a loan. In order to get final approval on a mortgage, the lender will need to conduct the underwriting process to verify your finances to confirm you will likely be able to afford to repay your mortgage.

If your income, assets, debt, and credit check out, then you’ll be in good shape for final approval. If there have been considerable changes to your job situation or total debt, that could jeopardize your chance of final mortgage approval.

Your lender will also need to review the property you’re buying to confirm the following:

• The appraisal value: Your lender will order a home appraisal to make sure you’re not paying more for the home than it’s actually worth. Your lender isn’t going to loan you more than the value of the home. If the appraisal comes back lower than the purchase price, you’ll likely have to come up with the difference out of your own pocket.
• The title: Your lender will work with a title company to confirm who owns the property and make sure there are no claims or liens against it.
• The home’s condition: Some mortgages like Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans require that the property meets certain standards before the loan can close. Issues like cracked windows, missing handrails or a roof in poor condition could keep an FHA loan from closing.

Why should you get preapproved?

If you’re serious about buying a home, you’ll likely need to get preapproved before you can hire a real estate agent. Sellers typically won’t take any offer seriously unless the prospective buyer has already attained preapproval. Let’s take a look at some of the other benefits of getting preapproved for a mortgage:

• Rough idea of how much you can borrow.
• Clearer home budget
• Strengthen your home offer
• Identify issues that might jeopardize your ability to get approved
• Potentially faster closing

How to get preapproved for a mortgage

If you’re ready to start house-hunting and want to find out how much you’ll be able to borrow, here are the steps to take to get preapproved for a mortgage.

1.  Review your financial details

Before you can get a home loan preapproval, it’s a good idea to review your finances to see if you meet minimum eligibility requirements. To get a conventional loan, you’ll typically need a credit score of at least 620. Government-backed loans have slightly looser credit requirements.

Lenders also check your debt-to-income ratio (DTI) to confirm that you’ll be able to afford your monthly payments alongside your other debts. DTI is a figure that reflects how much of your monthly income is taken up by debt payments. You can calculate your DTI by adding up your minimum monthly debt payments and dividing that by your gross monthly income. While exact DTI requirements vary depending on the lender, you’ll typically need a DTI that doesn’t exceed 50% to get preapproved.

You’ll also need to assess your savings to determine how much of a down payment you can afford to make. Conventional loans require a down payment of at least 3%. It’s also important to make sure you can get a monthly payment that can fit into your budget. You can use our home affordability calculator to help you figure out how much home you can afford based on your income, savings, and debt.

2.  Collect your documentation

Your lender will request certain financial documents to assess your eligibility for a mortgage and how much they’re willing to loan you. These documents reflect your income, savings, assets, and debts. Some documents you’ll want to have on your mortgage preapproval checklist include:

• Proof of identity
• Pay stubs
• Bank statements
• Investment statements
• W-2s or 1099s
• Tax returns
• List of debts
• Proof of assets
• Employer contact details

Once you’ve submitted all your information to the lender, expect to receive your Loan Estimate within 3 business days. The Loan Estimate lists the important details of the loan, including the estimated monthly payment, interest rate, and closing costs.

3.  Find a mortgage lender

When it comes to getting a mortgage, there are a variety of different banks and lenders to choose from. It’s important to work with a lender that is established and reputable. Home buyers are encouraged to collect Loan Estimates from several different lenders before committing to one. That way, you can compare the terms of each to make sure you’re getting the best deal.

Some of the benefits of choosing Rocket Mortgage^® include low down payment options, customizable loan terms, and a wide variety of different types of loans.

Rocket Mortgage also offers two different preapproval options:

• Prequalified Approval: This is the fastest way to get approved with Rocket Mortgage. Simply apply online and allow us to carry out a hard credit pull to check your credit score. You won’t be required to provide any documents, but you should come prepared with information about your income and assets. You’ll have the option to sync your application with your bank accounts. This way, we’ll know exactly how much you have available for your down payment and closing costs.
• Verified Approval: Our Verified Approval¹ is a great way to strengthen your offer over other types of basic preapproval letters. We’ll do a full verification of your income and assets, as well as a hard credit pull so sellers can be certain you won’t run into financing issues. A Verified Approval Letter is also fully verified by an underwriter.

4.  Submit your preapproval application

With most lenders, you’ll be able to fill out and submit your preapproval application entirely online. You’ll attach the necessary supporting documentation and the lender will do a hard credit check. You can expect to hear back within 1 – 3 days, though some lenders issue same-day preapproval. Lenders can’t charge any fees during this process aside from a small charge for the credit pull.

5.  Get your mortgage preapproval decision

When you get preapproved, you typically get a preapproval letter from the lender. There are a few reasons the preapproval letter is important. First, real estate agents typically want to see your preapproval letter before they show you houses. This ensures they don’t waste time showing you homes outside your budget.

Second, the preapproval letter is something you can share with the home’s seller when you make an offer. It shows you won’t have problems getting financed for the amount you’re offering.

Preapproval doesn’t last forever. Check your expiration date and keep it in mind as you look at homes. Though it varies from lender to lender, preapproval is typically valid for 60 – 90 days. If you haven't settled on a house, you can request a renewal. This is done by giving your lender your most up-to-date financial and credit information.

If you are granted preapproval but aren’t satisfied with the loan amount, you can still get Loan Estimates from other lenders. You aren’t locked in with any lender who has preapproved you, and other lenders may be willing offer you a larger loan.

If you are denied preapproval, ask the lender for more details. This can help you address any problem areas in your finances that are preventing you from getting a loan. For example, if the lender tells you your credit score was too low, you can take steps to improve it - like making on-time payments and paying down debts.

How to improve your chances of preapproval

Let’s talk about some of the steps you can take to set yourself up for a higher chance of getting preapproved for a mortgage:

• Save for a larger down payment
• Increase your income
• Improve your credit score
• Reduce debt
• Avoid taking on new debt
• Fix any errors on your credit report

FAQ about mortgage preapproval

Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about mortgage preapproval.

Why should I get preapproved by more than one lender?

Applying to multiple lenders helps home buyers compare interest rates and choose the deal with the most favorable terms. Shopping around for a mortgage that best fits your finances can save you a lot of money over the life of the loan.

How does having multiple preapprovals impact your credit score?

Each time you apply for a loan preapproval or approval, a lender checks your credit with a hard pull. This typically lowers your score by a few points. However, if your credit is pulled multiple times within 45 days, it will only be treated as a single hard inquiry.

Does it cost anything to get preapproved for a mortgage?

Getting preapproved with many lenders – including Rocket Mortgage – is free. However, some lenders may charge an application or credit check fee.

Can I get approved for a mortgage with bad credit?

The credit score needed to buy a house depends on the type of mortgage you’re looking to get. For example, conventional loans usually require a credit score of 620, while FHA loans only require a score of 580. If your score is below the minimum, you may not get approved.

However, you can still get approved even if you have bad credit. Your chances of getting approved for a mortgage can increase with a bigger down payment or a low DTI. Switching to an FHA loan or taking time to repair your credit before applying can also make homeownership possible.

How far in advance should I get preapproved?

You’ll need preapproval to tour homes and make an offer. But because preapproval letters expire, you won’t want to get preapproved too early. You should get approved for a mortgage as soon as you’re ready to start seriously searching for homes with the intention to buy.

The bottom line: Start your home buying journey with a mortgage preapproval

Mortgage preapproval is an important first step toward buying a home. Once your financial information is verified, you'll have a clear idea of roughly how much home you can afford. Preapproval also shows sellers that you’re serious about buying and likely able to secure financing.

If you’re ready to get preapproved for a home loan, apply online now with Rocket Mortgage.

¹ Participation in the Verified Approval program is based on an underwriter’s comprehensive analysis of your credit, income, employment status, assets and debt. If new information materially changes the underwriting decision resulting in a denial of your credit request, if the loan fails to close for a reason outside of Rocket Mortgage’s control, including, but not limited to satisfactory insurance, appraisal and title report/search, or if you no longer want to proceed with the loan, your participation in the program will be discontinued. If your eligibility in the program does not change and your mortgage loan does not close due to a Rocket Mortgage error, you will receive the $1,000. This offer does not apply to new purchase loans submitted to Rocket Mortgage through a mortgage broker. Rocket Mortgage reserves the right to cancel this offer at any time. Acceptance of this offer constitutes the acceptance of these terms and conditions, which are subject to change at the sole discretion of Rocket Mortgage. Additional conditions or exclusions may apply.

The 3% down payment option is only available on certain conventional loan products and is not available in all states. Additional terms and conditions may apply.