If you’re a buyer in the market, you have probably heard lots of people, other agents or other buyers talk about getting pre-approved or pre-qualified.

Some people use those two terms as they are the same, however, they are not the same.

Pre-qualified means that you have verbally given your information to your lender, how much money you make, and your credit score. Most of the time they will go head and run your credit report to give you that pre-qualification.

However, once you go to the pre-approved status, that means that you have submitted all of your documentation.

Your tax returns and paystubs, everything that proves what you’ve already told the lender.

What that does for a seller, if they see pre-approved, versus pre-qualified, is that you have already taken that extra step.

Just that one step is going to give that seller some peace of mind just knowing that you’re a little bit further along the process to be able to make it a smoother closing.