Mortgage Pre-Approval vs Rate Hold

When looking for a pre-approval have you come across a term "rate hold"? Some people use it as a synonym to a pre-approval, but it's really not. As as a mortgage client, for you it's crucial to understand the difference.

Rate hold is just that - bank or financial institution confirming to you in a document that IF you qualify for a mortgage with them, it might be amount xxx with a certain interest rate.

Downside here? They don't really look at your documents at this stage, so they don't actually know if they will be able to give you a mortgage. As a result, you don't know that with certainty either. Imagine the stress if your offer on a house or condo got accepted, but the bank is suddenly saying they won't give you a mortgage, even though you have a pre-approval document!

Solution? Go for a fully underwritten pre-approval. Yes, it take 3-5 days and not 60 seconds, and yes, you have to provide documents to your mortgage agent and have an honest conversation with them. But you will have to go through all of that anyways as part of your mortgage application. Plus, you will know with a much higher degree of certainty that you actually qualify for the amount you need.

As a licensed mortgage agent, I am here to help you with a fully underwritten pre-approval. Protect yourself from future stress and book time with me to talk about your pre-approval!