A pre-qualification is useful if you need a baseline for what you should be looking at in terms of price range, but if you’re serious about buying, a pre-approval carries more weight with sellers.

A mortgage pre-approval states the lender’s commitment to fund your home loan for a specific amount at a specific rate if your financial situation remains unchanged. Obtaining a pre-approval is a more thorough process than with pre-qualification, so in order to determine your exact financial situation, the lender will verify your financial documentation, including paystubs, bank statements, and tax returns.

They will also perform a hard credit check to determine your creditworthiness, which will impact your credit score – so if you’re still working on boosting your credit score for the purpose of securing a mortgage loan, it may be better to wait until you’re ready to buy to get a pre-approval.