A preapproval built on verified documents shows your real budget and locks a rate for a few months. A quick online estimate does neither. And it carries no weight next to a competing offer.
The maximum isn’t your budget
What a lender approves and what you can live with month to month are rarely the same number. Settle on the second one first. Then treat the approval as a ceiling, not a target.
Cutting conditions once you’ve made an offer
Each condition you keep protects you. Each one you drop makes your offer look better to the seller. Shortening the financing window is usually safer than removing it altogether.
Documents to gather
What the lender will ask for.
Purpose of the file
Income and documents
Debts and credit
Property or security
Timing
Lender choices
Frequently asked
What should I gather before making an offer?+
Your last two notices of assessment, recent pay stubs, an employment letter, three months of bank statements and proof of your down payment. Ready before the offer, they make a five-day financing condition workable. Gathered after, they cost you weeks.
Current rates
Today’s rates, with the fine print.
These rates are indicative. Yours depends on your file, the type of mortgage (insured or not) and the lender. And look at the penalty too, it matters as much as the number.
Buying, renewing, refinancing, or something a bit out of the ordinary: tell us where you’re at, even if it’s still fuzzy. Mathieu gets back to you with next steps and the documents to pull together.
