What does a pre-approval from your team actually involve?

Hi, this is Jason Skelton with Pacific National Lending.

Welcome to another Q&A session where I answer mortgage questions from you all on the internet.

Today's question is:

"What does a pre-approval from your team actually involve?"

Summary:

Jason describes a pre-approval process designed to be easy for the borrower but genuinely thorough underneath. He requires income documentation and wants to understand where the money is coming from, with the explicit goal of confirming the borrower qualifies before they begin shopping — so no one is out looking at homes only to be denied later. He offers a notable track record: he has never pre-approved someone and then been unable to close the loan, which he attributes to how strict the team is at that stage. He frames the rigor as protection for the borrower, avoiding bad surprises at the end. Barring a life-changing event such as job loss, a pre-approval from his team should convert to an approval.

Answer:

The pre-approval process with us — we try to make it easy, but we're also very thorough with it. So I'm going to want to see the income documentation. I'm going to want to know where the money's coming from. I want to make sure that you do qualify, so I don't have you out shopping for a home that's going to get denied. Knock on wood, I can say I have never pre-approved somebody and not been able to close the loan. That's how strict we are on the pre-approvals. But again, that's for your protection — I don't want any bad surprises at the end. So yes, if you get a pre-approval from us, as long as nothing life-changing happens, like losing your job, you will be able to be approved for that loan once we get to that point. A pre-approval should actually mean something, and that's how we treat it.