A mortgage pre-approval used to feel like a golden ticket. Now, for a growing number of buyers, it feels more like a fragile promise written in pencil.
Across the country, lenders have started pulling credit again right before closing, and some buyers who felt confident weeks earlier suddenly find themselves scrambling. A routine credit check that once felt like a formality now carries real consequences. Pre-approvals vanish. Loan terms change. Deals fall apart.
