A mortgage pre-approval in Canada typically lasts 90 to 120 days — that’s the window during which your lender holds your rate and your verified maximum purchase price. It is not a guaranteed approval: if your job, debts, credit, or down payment change during those 90–120 days, or if the home you choose has problems of its own, the lender can change or withdraw it. Here’s exactly how the clock works, and what resets it. See the first-time buyer journey this pre-approval starts.

What does a pre-approval actually lock in?

Two things. First, a rate hold: if rates rise while you shop, you keep the held rate; if they fall before you sign, most lenders let you take the lower one. With the Bank of Canada’s next decision on October 28 and its policy rate at 2.25%, that hold is real protection this fall — prime sits at 4.45%, and variable rates move with it.

Second, a verified budget: a real pre-approval (not a two-minute online pre-qualification) is based on pulled credit, reviewed income documents, and confirmed down payment, tested against the federal stress test. Sellers and their agents treat that letter very differently from a calculator printout. If you haven’t done this step yet, my Pre-Approval & Refinance Check walks through what gets reviewed. See the stress test and the qualifying rate behind your number.

What can change or void a pre-approval?

• New debt. Financing a car, furniture, or a new credit card between pre-approval and closing changes your debt ratios — this is the single most common way buyers void their own pre-approval.
• A job change. New employer, new probation period, or a switch to self-employment or commission income can all restart the income review.
• Credit changes. Missed payments or a dropping score can change the lender’s answer at final approval.
• The property itself. The lender and insurer still have to approve the home: a low appraisal, condo documents with problems, or property-condition issues can shrink or kill the approval.
• An expired hold. If your 90–120 days run out before you have an accepted offer, the rate hold ends — even if nothing else changed.

See what can still make an approval fall apart after an accepted offer.

What happens when a pre-approval expires?

Usually, nothing dramatic: we refresh the file, re-pull documents if they’ve gone stale, and issue a new pre-approval with a new rate hold at current rates. The risk isn’t the paperwork — it’s that rates may have moved while you were between holds. That’s why timing matters: serious Edmonton buyers start their pre-approval about four months before they want to be in the home, and renew the hold once rather than discovering the expiry during a negotiation. First-time buyers can see where this step fits in the full sequence in my First Home Guide for Edmonton.

“She got everything done fast and found me a great rate too. Honestly, I felt really taken care of the whole time.” — Vince, Google review

How do you keep a pre-approval alive?

Keep your file boring from pre-approval to possession: same job, no new debt, no large unexplained deposits, and tell your broker before — not after — anything changes. Life happens (job offers, family changes), and most changes can be planned around if they’re known early. The ones that kill deals are the surprises discovered at final review, days before the financing condition deadline.

Shopping this fall, or is your current pre-approval about to expire? Call me and I’ll check where your hold stands and renew it before the October 28 rate decision — a hold costs nothing and keeps your budget exactly where you planned it.

By Travis Bannert, Realtor and Mortgage Broker

Travis Bannert, Mortgage Broker | Next Door Mortgages, Dominion Lending Centres | (780) 722-5621 | nextdoormortgages.com