A pre-qualification is when you provide generalized information to a lender or online calculator, without the information being confirmed, and receive an estimated max purchase price.

A pre-approval is when a qualified mortgage professional reviews the information provided, such as your mortgage application, income & down payment documents, along with verifying your credit bureau to provide you with a more accurate max purchase price.

After you have an accepted offer to purchase your dream home, your Mortgage Broker will submit your information to a lender. Once the lender reviews & confirms all the information provided, they will provide you with a full approval.

If you're buying an owner-occupied property, you may be eligible to put as little as 5% down. Keep in mind that just because the minimum down payment is 5%, you still need to qualify for the total mortgage amount (based on your income & debts).

Many people don't realize that the rules change for a purchase price above $500,000. In this case, you will require 5% on the 1st $500K and 10% on the remainder (up to $1M). If you're purchasing a home for over $1M you will require a minimum of 20% down.

If you're purchasing a rental property, you will require a minimum of 20% down.

This is where your mortgage professional can help provide you options, such as adding a co-signer, increasing your down payment and/or paying off debts. A Mortgage Broker/Agent has access to multiple lenders, so even if don't fit certain lender guidelines, they can shop around to see if another lender may approve your application.