Are you ready to begin your home search but not sure where to start? One of the biggest questions you probably hear are, “have you been preapproved,” or “did you get prequalified?” It is exciting to see what you get approved for, but it’s also good to understand the difference between being prequalified and preapproved as it can dictate your overall budget. 


Prequalification essentially means that the creditor has done a basic review of your credit to determine if you are likely to qualify for a loan or credit card. It gives you no real guarantee. 
You are sharing pretty basic information about your financial situation, such as your annual income, monthly housing payments and savings. If you were to get denied during this inquiry, you will not be able to move forward to a hard inquiry.

A pre-approval involves a formal application process where there is a formal commitment from the lender, stating how much you can borrow at what rate. The; ...