We have all probably heard just how important it is to get pre-approved before doing some serious home shopping. However, those pre approval letters do have an expiration date.
How Long Does the Pre-Approval Last?
The actually can vary from lender to lender. However, most letters expire after 90 days. When you get your letter it will have a date on it, after that the letter is no longer valid.
The whole reason these letters expire becasue banks need the most up-to-date information about your salary, assests, and debts. Three months is long enough that you could have left a job, taken on new debts, or spent what was previously in your bank account.
Also, even if you are pre-approved most lenders will want updated pay stubs and bank statements around the time of closing.
What Happens if it Expires?
If you are still in search of the perfect home after your letter has expired you just need to get a new one. If you go to the same lender it can be updated by re-verification of your financial documents.
Basically, you will need to again provide updated bank statements and pay stubs. If nothing major has happened in the past few months it should be no problem getting another pre-approval letter.
