Half the time, I feel like they’re speaking in code.
Yeah, that’s exactly it. I’ve had clients come in totally confused because someone told them “you’re pre-qualified” and they thought it meant they were good to go. It’s honestly frustrating. The difference between a soft pull and a hard pull isn’t rocket science, but the way it gets explained sure makes it sound that way. I always tell people: pre-qual is just a peek, pre-approval is where things get real. The dip in your score from a hard inquiry is usually pretty minor—nothing to stress over unless you’re applying for a bunch of stuff all at once.
Honestly, I thought I was the only one who felt like that.
When I started looking into buying, I kept mixing up pre-qual and pre-approval. My brain just glazed over every time someone tried to explain it. The “soft pull” vs “hard pull” thing tripped me up too—like, why does it have to sound so intense?Half the time, I feel like they’re speaking in code.
I got pre-qualified online and thought I was set, but then my realtor was like, “Nope, you need pre-approval if you want to make an offer.” Felt like a pop quiz I didn’t study for. The credit score dip from the hard inquiry was barely noticeable for me, though. Maybe two points? Not a big deal unless you’re shopping around with a bunch of lenders at once.
It’s confusing at first, but it gets clearer once you go through it. If you’re stressing about your score, it’s probably not as bad as it sounds.
It’s wild how much jargon gets thrown around in this process. The difference between pre-qualification and pre-approval trips up a lot of people, honestly. Pre-qualification is usually just a soft credit pull—think of it as a quick estimate based on what you tell the lender. No real impact on your score there. Pre-approval, though, that’s where they do a hard pull and actually verify your info. That’s the one sellers want to see.
You’re right about the credit score dip being pretty minor for most folks. A couple points, maybe, unless you’re applying with a bunch of lenders over several months. If you do all your mortgage shopping within a short window (like 14-45 days), most scoring models count those hard pulls as one inquiry anyway. It’s designed so people can shop around without getting penalized.
Honestly, I wish the industry would make this stuff less confusing. The “hard” and “soft” terminology sounds way more dramatic than it is. At the end of the day, as long as you’re not applying for every credit card under the sun at the same time, your score should be fine.
