I get many questions on the diference between pre-qualifiacation and pre-approval. The best explaination I've found comes from Mortgage 101-
Pre-Qualification
A mortgage loan pre-qualification is simply an estimate of how much house you can afford and how much money a lender would be willing to loan you. The best time to get a pre-qualification is right at the beginning of your home buying process, before you even start looking at houses. This involves either sitting down with a lender or talk...