Mortgage pre-approval in Nova Scotia

A pre-qualification is a conversation: you say what you earn and owe, and you get a rough range in minutes, with no documents, no credit check and no rate hold. A pre-approval is a lender decision on documented income, credit and down payment, with a maximum amount and a held rate, and it is the one a listing agent takes seriously. A commitment is the third and final stage: the lender approving a specific property after the offer.

1–3 business days from the point your documents are complete — the documents, not the application, are what set the pace. A pre-qualification range takes one phone call. A full commitment on an accepted offer takes another 5–10 business days, mostly waiting on the appraisal.

The letter looks the same; what sits behind it differs. A bank pre-approves you against its own guidelines, and if you fall outside them the answer is no. A broker sends one application, on one credit inquiry, to whichever of the banks, credit unions and monoline lenders on the panel fits your file, so a decline at one is not the end of it. Both cost you nothing on a standard residential mortgage.

Fill in the short form on this page (about a minute), then pick a time for a 15-minute call. Riley replies within one business day with the short list of documents your file actually needs; once those are in, applying for a pre-approval takes 1–3 business days. Being pre-approved for a mortgage commits you to nothing, and no credit inquiry happens until you have signed a written consent.

Yes. “Home loan” is the American term for the same product; in Canada it is called a mortgage. Getting approved for a home loan and getting approved for a mortgage are one process, and you apply for a home loan pre-approval exactly as described on this page.

Prequalify if you are months away and only want a range: one phone call, no documents, no credit check. Go straight to a pre-approval once you are ready to look, because that is the one a listing agent takes seriously. A mortgage pre-approval in Canada rests on a national stress test, so you qualify at the greater of your rate plus 2% and 5.25% wherever in the country you buy.

Two years of Notices of Assessment and the matching T1 generals, plus business registration or incorporation documents, and for a corporation usually two years of financial statements. If your declared income is written down by expenses, a bank-statement program at an alternative lender can work instead. The self-employed page covers both routes.

It involves one credit inquiry, made only with your written consent, with a small and temporary effect. Several inquiries in a short window are generally scored as one, but the cleanest approach is one inquiry through one broker placing the file with many lenders.

Typically 90 to 120 days, depending on the lender. If rates fall before you buy, you get the lower rate; if they rise, you keep the hold. An expired hold is refreshed with current documents.

You can, but most Nova Scotia listing agents ask whether a buyer is pre-approved before presenting an offer, and a financing condition without one is a weaker offer. It also tells you the maximum price before you fall for a house above it.

A change in the facts it was based on: a job change or probation, new debt (a car loan is the classic), a missed payment, a higher purchase price, a property the lender will not accept, or an appraisal below the price. Keep your finances still until closing.