The easiest and quickest approval anyone can get

Pre-approval letters rarely reflect the financial strain that a mortgage loan exerts on borrowers. (flickr photo by Joint Base Lewis McChord)

It is next to impossible to get an offer accepted to purchase residential property without a lender’s statement that the borrower is qualified to receive a mortgage.

(In the case of an all-cash offer that obviously doesn’t depend on a loan, other evidence is required to prove that the purchaser has enough funds to close.)

Although sellers and their brokers rely on them, at least initially, those mandatory pre-approval letters are worth no more than the cost of e-mailing them — in other words, nothing.

The first question to ask is