IS THERE REALLY A DIFFERENCE?
Pre-Qualification vs.
Pre- Approval
Prequalification letter: A prequalification is an estimate of the amount of home loan you can get. It’s based on an informal evaluation of your income and other information.
Preapproval letter: A mortgage preapproval is an official document from a lender that tells you exactly how much loan money you can get based on your financial information, such as W-2s, bank statements, tax returns, debt to income, and your credit score.
Bottom-line is when shopping for a home be sure to get a PRE-APPROVAL LETTER as this is the only way you will truly know what you can afford versus just applying online without any documentation taken into consideration.