The mortgage pre-approval process is a much more thorough review of your finances. Your loan officer will pull and review your credit and complete a comprehensive review of your work history, income documentation (W-2’s, tax returns), and available assets (bank and investments statements).  Getting pre-approved will help you make an offer with confidence knowing the lender has most of the information needed to make a loan decision that is not associated with the property (i.e., appraisal, title search, homeowner association rules).