How Mortgage Pre-Approval Works
What pre-approval means, what documents to expect, and how long it takes.
Published: Last updated:
A pre-approval is a lender's conditional commitment to lend, based on verified credit, income and assets. It is not a guarantee, but it is far stronger than a pre-qualification.
Expect to provide: recent pay stubs, two years of W-2s (or 1099s / tax returns if self-employed), two months of bank statements, government ID, and authorization to pull credit.
A clean pre-approval takes 1–3 business days once documents are received.
Talk to a NEXA loan officer
This guide is written by Renato Rodic, a NEXA Lending loan officer. See the contact page to reach him about your specific scenario.