The day I realized my pre-approval was basically useless

I spent 6 months looking at places around Vancouver thinking I had a solid $650k budget. Then my broker casually mentioned that pre-approval amount was based on an interest rate from January, not the current 5.4% rate. I almost fell off my chair when he ran the numbers again and it dropped to $540k. He said most people don't ask about rate holds or how long the pre-approval locks in for. Now I always double check the fine print before I get excited about a price range. Has anyone else gotten burned by a pre-approval that shifted under them?

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piperf404mo ago

Ugh @amyr57 your buddy's story is giving me flashbacks lol. Same thing happened to me in Vancouver last spring. I was dead set on a place listed at $620k, had my offer drafted and everything. Then my broker did the recheck and my budget dropped to like $520k. I literally had to start over from scratch with a completely different neighborhood. The small print on those pre-approvals is basically a trap if you don't know what to look for. I wasted a good 4 months because of that nonsense.

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amyr574mo ago

A buddy of mine had the exact same thing happen in Toronto last year. He was all set to bid on a place and then his pre-approval amount dropped by almost $80k overnight. Totally wrecked his search for months.

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