Your Pre-Approval Letter Has an Expiration Date — Here's What To Do

You found the house. The price is right, the neighborhood feels like home, and your realtor is ready to write the offer. Then someone asks: "Do you have your pre-approval letter?" You pull it up — and realize it expired two weeks ago.

That moment of panic is more common than you'd think. I've seen it happen to buyers who were doing everything right. The good news? It's fixable. But it helps a lot to understand upfront how pre-approval letters work before you're in that situation.

Let me walk you through exactly how long a pre-approval is valid, what happens when it expires, and what to do so it never slows you down.

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How Long Is a Pre-Approval Letter Valid?

Most pre-approval letters are valid for 60 to 90 days. Some lenders issue them for as few as 30 days. The exact window depends on the lender and the loan program.

Here's why the clock matters: a pre-approval is based on a snapshot of your finances — your credit score, income, debts, and assets at a specific moment in time. After 90 days, lenders consider that snapshot stale and need to verify everything again.

• Conventional loans: typically 60–90 days
• FHA loans: typically 90 days
• ITIN-based loans (for buyers without SSN): varies by lender, often 60 days

If you got pre-approved in January planning to close by March and the search dragged into April, your letter is almost certainly expired.

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What Actually Happens When It Expires?

Nothing catastrophic — I want to be clear about that. An expired pre-approval doesn't mean you lose your loan or have to start from scratch with your down payment.

What it does mean is that you'll need to get re-approved before a seller will take your offer seriously. Most listing agents won't even present an offer to a seller without a current, valid letter attached.

The re-approval process usually involves:

• A new credit pull (which can affect your score by a few points — typically 2 to 5)
• Updated pay stubs and bank statements
• Verification that your debts haven't changed significantly

If nothing in your financial picture has changed, this is usually quick — sometimes same day or next day. The bigger risk is if something has changed: a new car loan, a job change, or a dip in your credit score. That's when re-approval can get complicated.

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A Real Example: How Timing Can Cost You

Let me paint a concrete picture. Say you're pre-approved in early February for a $320,000 home. Your letter expires April 30th. You find a great house on May 3rd — listed at $315,000 — and want to make an offer that weekend.

Your realtor submits the offer. The seller has two other offers with valid letters. Yours gets set aside. By Monday when you've refreshed your approval, the house is under contract with someone else.

That's not worst-case. That's Tuesday in a competitive market.

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How To Keep Your Pre-Approval From Expiring at the Wrong Moment

The strategy is simple: time your pre-approval to when you're actively making offers, not when you're just starting to look.

Here's what I tell my clients:

• Don't rush to get pre-approved if you're still 4–6 months away from being ready to buy
• Renew early — don't wait for the letter to expire; reach out 1–2 weeks before it does
• Avoid big financial changes during your active search: no new credit cards, no new car loans, no job changes if you can help it
• Keep your documents handy — recent pay stubs, 2 months of bank statements, tax returns — so renewal is fast

If you're buying with an ITIN instead of an SSN, the same rules apply. I work with buyers in that situation regularly, and the process is the same — your letter just needs to stay current like anyone else's.

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Next Steps: Don't Let a Piece of Paper Slow You Down

A pre-approval letter is your ticket to being taken seriously as a buyer. It's not permanent, but renewing it is usually painless — as long as you stay on top of it.

If your letter is expired, close to expiring, or you haven't gotten pre-approved yet, reach out to me directly. No pressure, no hard sell — just a straight answer about where you stand and what it takes to get your letter ready before the right house shows up.

Send me a message anytime. I'm here.