Get Pre-Qualified for a Mortgage
Whether you’re buying your first home, refinancing your current mortgage, or investing in commercial real estate, we’re here to guide you every step of the way.
Frequently asked questions
No documents or fees are required to prequalify for mortgage loan. That’s one reason why a prequalification is just an estimate: it’s based on financial information that hasn’t been documented and verified.
Later on, if you decide to complete a full mortgage application, your home mortgage consultant and loan processor will let you know exactly what documents to provide.
Here are the key differences between prequalifying for a mortgage and getting preapproved for a mortgage loan:
Credit Check Type: When you prequalify for a mortgage loan, we use a soft credit inquiry, which gives limited information about your credit history and monthly debts. For a preapproval, a hard credit inquiry is required, providing a more detailed and complete view of your credit.
Accuracy: A mortgage preapproval offers a more accurate and reliable estimate of how much you can borrow than a mortgage prequalification.
Preapproval Letter: Only a preapproval includes a PriorityBuyer℠ Preapproval Letter that you can show sellers to demonstrate you’re a serious buyer.
Reliability for Sellers: Sellers consider a preapproval stronger and more trustworthy than a simple mortgage prequalification.
If you’re not sure which option is right for you, start by getting your mortgage prequalification online. It only takes a few minutes, and afterward, you can easily take the next step and let us know you’d like to get preapproved.
A mortgage prequalification doesn’t come with an expiration date. On the other hand, the more time that passes after you prequalify for a mortgage loan, the more likely it is that something could change and affect your estimated loan amount.
When you prequalify for a mortgage, we estimate how much you could borrow based on your income, debts, credit, and down payment amount at that moment in time. If all those things stay the same, the amount you qualify for shouldn’t change dramatically.
If things do change, don’t worry — you can always come back and repeat the mortgage prequalification process to double-check your results. Getting prequalified for a mortgage loan online with Wells Fargo is quick and simple, costs you nothing, and doesn’t affect your credit score, no matter how many times you do it.
No. When we check your credit for a mortgage prequalification, it’s considered a “soft” credit inquiry, which does not affect your credit score.
If you decide to move forward after prequalifying, we’ll ask your permission before doing a “hard” credit inquiry later in the process.