Is there a difference between mortgage approval and mortgage qualification? Yes, indeed there is a difference between mortgage approval and mortgage qualification. Before you can get approved for a mortgage you need to qualify for one. In a sense the qualification is simply the first step to getting yourself a home mortgage. When you are doing your shopping for a loan you had better realize that while you are getting some great quotes on loans, none of these are written in stone. Here today and gone tomorrow as they say. The market changes quickly but this does not mean that you should jump on the first quote that sounds good. As risky as it may seem you still need to shop around and hope that you will still be eligible for that great rate down the road. When you get qualifies for a loan all that means is that the lender has gone through your credit history and your income and decide that you are worth the risk that they might be taking by giving you the loan. They are willing to bet on you. If the later find out something that they did not know and this something changes the way your circumstances look they have the right to change the terms that they quoted you previously. And market fluctuation will affect your quote as well, that is to be expected. Qualification or Pre qualification comes with no strings and no commitments, everything is left up in the air. Pre approval on the other hand will allow you to hold the lender somewhat to what they have said to you. By the time you get to pre approval they have checked all thorough your credit history with a find toothed comb. Still you will find most lenders not giving you a specific loan amount at the time of pre approval, they know that to do so would be putting too much of their money at risk. They do not know how long you are going to take to make up your mind and who knows what the market will do in the meantime and if the borrower will be able to afford a substantial loan. If you want set in stone kind of promises you are going to need to get rate lock, you will need to get the interest rate fixed. All of the features of your loan will have to be spelled out in black and white including the point, the rate, and the loan to value ration among other terms. Before you can get an interest rate lock you will probably have to fill out an entire application and this might even cost you a fee. SO you should consider doing the shopping portion of loan hunting first.