Pre-approval, loan documents and your bank

What it is

Pre-approval is the bank's conditional yes to lending you up to a certain amount, usually valid for a few months. Once you have a signed agreement the bank assesses the actual property and issues a formal loan offer. The loan documents, mortgage and authority forms then come to us for signing, normally in the final week or two before settlement.

Why it matters

A finance condition in your offer is only as good as the bank's willingness to approve that specific property. Cross-leases, unit titles, unconsented work and small apartments can all change the bank's position. And the signing meeting is not a formality: the loan agreement sets your repayments, your break fees and what happens if you miss a payment.

How we handle it

We talk to your mortgage adviser early so the legal and finance workstreams run together. When the loan documents arrive we read them, explain the parts that matter, and book a signing that leaves time for the bank to release funds on settlement morning. If you are using a revolving credit or offset facility we walk through how the money actually lands on the day.

Common traps

• Treating a pre-approval letter as approval for the property you have found.
• Changing jobs, taking on new debt or missing payments between pre-approval and settlement.
• Leaving the loan-document signing to the last day. Banks need their documents back before they will release funds.
• Not telling the bank about something material, like a price reduction after a building report. We have to.