 TITLE: How to Get Preapproved for a Mortgage CONTENT: How a Mortgage Preapproval Affects Your Credit\n----------------------------------------------\nThe credit check required for a mortgage preapproval is identical to the one performed when you apply for a mortgage. This check is considered a hard inquiry on your credit report, which can temporarily lower your credit score a few points.\nIf you fill out several applications in the process of shopping for a new loan, credit scoring systems treat the credit checks related to those applications as a single event, as long as you make them within a few weeks of each other. Note that the various FICO® Score☉ models will combine inquiries made within the same 45-day period and treat them as one event; the VantageScore® system uses a rolling two-week window that resets each time you make a similar loan application within two weeks of the one that preceded it.\nThis allows you to shop around for the best possible terms without worrying that each credit inquiry will harm your ability to qualify for a new loan. END