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Do I need pre-approval before I look? How long does it last?
Bayley Clarke · Mortgage broker on the road · Last checked 1 September 2026 · 3 min read
The short answer
Ideally you want to have at least spoken to a mortgage broker before you're out making offers on properties. You don't know where to aim if you don't know your numbers, and if you haven't spoken to someone, you don't even know if you'll get approved.
But you don't necessarily need a formal pre-approval to make an offer. If I've already got your payslips and run your scenario across the lenders, and the price you're buying at is well below the bank's theoretical maximum, then make the offer subject to finance. If the market is competitive and you're being pushed to go unconditional, get the pre-approval. It's generally valid for 90 days.
The 80 second version. The rest of this page is the detail underneath it.
Numbers first, always
The important part is the conversation, not the paperwork. You want to at least have a chat with a broker who can pre-qualify you for a purchase price range based on your unique situation, so you know what to aim at. Without that you're spraying in the dark.
Pre-qualification is me running your income, deposit and debts across the lenders I work with and telling you the range. It puts nothing on your credit file. It's the step most people skip, and it's the one that saves the most heartache.
When you don't need the formal pre-approval
Sometimes I'll have a client where I've been able to get payslips and all the information up front. I've run their scenario against the panel of lenders I work with, and I'm confident the price they're buying at is well below what the bank's theoretical maximum would be.
Then I just say make an offer subject to finance. That clause protects you: if the finance doesn't come through, you can walk away from the contract. In a normal market, most agents accept it without blinking.
When you do
If for any reason the market is really competitive, which it isn't everywhere right now, and you're having to make unconditional offers, then get the pre-approval in place first. Unconditional means no finance clause, so you want the bank's word before you sign, not after.
You want to stay away from unconditional offers where you can. But if that's the game in your area, a pre-approval is what lets you play it safely. It generally lasts 90 days, and if you haven't found the right place by then, we just redo it.
The honest bit: a pre-approval is not an approval
People treat a pre-approval like a guarantee. It isn't. The bank has assessed you, not the property. The full approval still needs a valuation on the place you actually buy, and if the valuation comes in short or the property type is one that lender doesn't like, the pre-approval doesn't save you.
That's the second reason to talk before you offer. I can tell you which properties a given lender gets nervous about before you fall in love with one.
Want your numbers before you start making offers?
A 30 minute call. I pre-qualify you across the lenders I work with, tell you your range, and whether you need the formal pre-approval or can go subject to finance. Nothing on your file until you say so.
No cost to you. The bank pays me when a loan settles. ยท How I get paid
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