02 What you need to know
How long a mortgage pre-approval lasts, and why it runs out
A pre-approval means a lender has pulled your credit, reviewed your income and asset documents, and run your numbers through underwriting guidelines to estimate how much you can borrow. It is far stronger than a quick estimate, but it is still a snapshot of one moment.
There is no single expiration date that applies everywhere. Validity periods vary by lender and by loan program, and many letters are written to last only a few months. What really controls the clock is the age of the documents underneath the letter.
Your documents have a shelf life
- Credit report. For conventional loans sold to Fannie Mae, credit documents, including the credit report, generally can be no more than four months old on the day you sign your loan (the note date).
- Income documents. Pay stubs and other employment and income documents fall under the same four-month window. FHA uses a similar limit of about 120 days.
- Asset statements. Bank and investment statements age out too. If your most recent statement is too old by closing, the lender has to request a newer one.
If anything is older than allowed, the lender must update it. That can mean a new credit pull, fresh pay stubs, and new statements, all reviewed again.
What changes your approval
Your approval is built on your DTI, or debt-to-income ratio: your monthly debts plus your new housing payment, divided by your gross monthly income. Anything that moves that ratio, or your credit score, can change what you qualify for.
- A new car loan, lease, or credit card balance
- A job change, a pay cut, or a shift from salary to commission or self-employment
- Late payments or a lower credit score
- Higher interest rates, which raise the payment on the same loan amount
Lenders also re-verify employment shortly before closing. For borrowers qualifying with W-2 wages on Fannie Mae loans, that verbal verification generally happens within 10 business days of the note date.
03 Real-world example
How a new car payment shrinks your buying power
Say you were pre-approved three months ago, right at the top of your allowable DTI. Since then you financed a vehicle with a $750 monthly payment. You haven’t told your lender, and your letter still shows the old number.
That $750 now counts against the same income. If your DTI was already at the maximum, the lender has to take that $750 out of the room left for your housing payment.
| Down payment | Approximate drop in purchase price |
|---|---|
| 10% down (loan is 90% of price) | ≈ $125,300 |
| 20% down (loan is 80% of price) | ≈ $140,900 |
Assumptions: hypothetical 7% fixed rate, 30-year term, used only for illustration and not a rate offer. Borrower was at the maximum DTI before the car loan. The $750 is treated entirely as principal and interest (P&I); in practice property taxes, insurance and mortgage insurance also scale with price, so the real reduction is usually somewhat smaller. The 45% DTI figure is illustrative; limits vary by program and underwriting findings.
One car payment can move your price range by six figures. Your letter won’t change on its own, but your approval will once the lender sees the new debt.
04 What most people overlook
What buyers overlook about an old pre-approval letter
Most people assume the letter is valid until the date printed on it. In reality, the lender will re-check your file before closing, and anything that changed in between will show up.
- New debt appears on the updated credit report. Lenders often run a final credit check or monitor your credit before closing. A financed couch, a new credit card, or a car loan will be found.
- A rate change matters even if nothing else does. Your letter was calculated at a rate. If rates rise, the same loan amount costs more each month and may push your DTI over the limit.
- Listing agents notice dates. A letter dated months ago signals that no one has looked at your file recently. A recently updated letter makes your offer more credible.
- The worst time to find a problem is in escrow. Escrow is the period between an accepted offer and closing, when deadlines are running. Re-qualifying then puts your deposit and your contract timelines under pressure.
If anything has changed, tell your lender before you write an offer, not after.
05 How I’d approach it
How I keep a pre-approval current
I want your approval updated before you find the house, not after you’re already in escrow.
When a client tells me they’re getting serious about offers, I start with three questions: Has anything changed with your job or pay? Have you opened or financed anything? Can you send me your newest pay stubs and statements?
Then I check the dates on everything in the file against the program’s age limits and the likely closing date. If the credit report will be stale by then, I would rather refresh it now than scramble later.
- Re-run the numbers at a current rate so the letter reflects today’s payment.
- Update documents that will age out before the expected closing date.
- Re-issue the letter for the specific price and property type you’re targeting.
And my standing rule: no new credit, no big purchases, and no job moves until after you close without calling me first.