Any good mortgage professional will tell you that your house hunt should include a call to a mortgage professional as well as a call to your realtor. A mortgage professionals work with you to obtain a mortgage pre-approval. Then, you can shop for a property knowing how much money you have to spend or, more importantly, how much a lender will loan you for your mortgage?

And that’s what a mortgage pre-approval is: the process of determining whether a borrower meets a particular lender’s guidelines for a home loan. It shouldn’t be confused with a mortgage pre-qualification, which is a much more cursory look at your financial picture. A mortgage pre-approval gives you some confidence that you are a qualified borrower in the eyes of a lender. This is beneficial because the last thing you want when going through the home buying process is to have done your own calculations and have figured out what you think you can afford using a mortgage calculator and the available interest rates, then apply for a mortgage with a lender and receive an entirely different interest rate based on your overall strength as a borrower. To avoid any nasty surprises, it’s best to get pre-approved before doing anything else. (Apart from saving money, of course!)

The pre-approval process

The pre-approval process can start anywhere up to 120 days before you want to buy a home, depending on how long the lender’s pre-approval is guaranteed. It’s the first step to getting a mortgage, and although it typically doesn't take that long to complete, another benefit to doing it early in the process is that you're not simultaneously dealing with offer negotiations, when every moment can be crucial. For a mortgage pre-approval, you have to provide supplemental documentations proving your income, the source of your down payment, and your assets and liabilities. The lender will also look at your credit report to determine your credit-worthiness.

According to BMO, you (and other applicants, if more than one person is applying) will need to provide the following information:

• Photo ID
• A record of employment income such as a paystub, T-4 slip or a personal income tax return (if you are self-employed, at least two years of Personal Income Tax Returns and Financial Statements)
• A letter from your employer stating the length of employment and current salary
• The account numbers and locations of your bank accounts and investments
• Proof of assets, such as
  • Vehicles
  • Boats
  • Investments and interest income
  • Retirement savings accounts
  • Collections
  • Jewelry
  • Other real estate holdings

• Proof of liabilities, such as
  • Existing mortgages
  • Credit card balances
  • Car loans
  • Student loans
  • Lines of credit
  • Co-signed or guaranteed loans
  • Liens
  • Child support

Some lenders will give you written confirmation or a certificate as proof of pre-approval. It’s important to note that when you’ve been pre-approved, the only thing that’s being guaranteed for the 60-120-day period is the interest rate. The process vets you as a borrower, but it is not a guarantee that you will get a mortgage, or the amount that you will be loaned, because property details have yet to enter the picture. Keep in mind that ultimately, you don’t have to stick with the lender that gave you a pre-approval.

There are a number of reasons why you’d want to get pre-approved. For starters, it’ll speed up the home buying process. A file has already been opened for you with your lender, and you’ll be providing additional information to what’s already there. It will also give you a much more accurate assessment of the amount of money that you’ll have at your disposal for your property purchase. A pre-approval will show to your realtor that you’re serious about buying a home, and it will do the same to sellers, which means that the offer that you end up presenting may be stronger than a buyer’s offer without a pre-approval. To a seller, a pre-approval means that your financing is less likely to fall through than it would be without a pre-approval, and in a strong real estate market, every advantage helps.

Remember, the amount for which you’re pre-approved is not guaranteed. The only thing that’s locked in is the interest rate. This not only gives you another tool to better estimate monthly costs, but it also protects you against rising interest rates in the near future. If rates rise during the period in which the pre-approval rate is valid, then you will be given the rate that was guaranteed for the pre-approval. If rates fall, don’t worry – you will be given the lowest rate available. And even though it’s a good idea of the size of mortgage a lender will approve, it doesn’t mean that you should look for a property with the price tag that matches the number you’ve been given.

“When lenders determine capacity to borrow . . . house maintenance and the updates required on a regular basis is not part of that calculation, nor are daycare costs, and so on and so forth,” says Rona Birenbaum, financial planner and founder of Caring for Clients. “Quite often what happens is, without proper advice, an individual will borrow way more than what they can afford when all of those other expenses come up. Because a lender really isn’t concerned about those things, unless they’re dealing with a banker who is taking all of their life circumstances into consideration. More often than not, we recommend a borrowing level that is quite a bit less than what they’re approved for from their lender.”

http://www.whichmortgage.ca/article/understanding-