After your offer: from pre-approval to final approval
Once your offer is accepted, the lender turns your pre-approval into a final approval: it re-checks income, debts and credit, reviews the property (often with an appraisal) and issues a commitment with conditions. A financing condition buys time for this, and your rate hold must still cover the funding date.
Figures as of 2026-11-03.
What happens after your offer is accepted?
- Send the lender the accepted offer, the listing and any condo documents.
- The lender re-verifies income, debts and credit.
- Property review: an appraisal, and for condos the status certificate.
- Commitment letter with conditions.
- You meet the conditions; your lawyer or notary closes and the lender funds.
How does the financing condition work?
Ask your agent for enough business days to complete steps 1 to 4. The pre-approval tells you the likely amount; the condition protects your deposit if the final answer differs. In hot markets buyers are tempted to go firm. If you do, you're betting that the appraisal matches the price, the lender accepts the property type, and nothing in your file has changed since the pre-approval.
What does the appraisal decide?
If it comes in below the price, the lender lends on the lower value and you cover the gap in cash. In the example, a 4% shortfall on a $585,000 price at a 90% loan-to-value needs about $21,060. Options: bring the cash, renegotiate the price, or ask for a reconsideration with better comparable sales. See what to do about a low appraisal on our sister site Revalued.ca.
What conditions come with the commitment?
| Condition | What you send |
|---|---|
| Confirm income | Employment letter and recent pay stubs, or NOAs if self-employed |
| Verify down payment | About 90 days of statements, large deposits explained |
| Gift letter | Signed letter plus proof the money arrived |
| Satisfactory appraisal | Nothing up front; the lender orders it |
| Sale of current home | Firm sale agreement; statement of adjustments later |
| Condo review | Status or estoppel certificate, reviewed by your lawyer |
How long does it take from offer to funding?
| When | What happens | Your job |
|---|---|---|
| Day 0 | Offer accepted with a financing condition | Send the offer and listing to the lender the same day |
| Days 1–3 | Lender orders the appraisal and re-checks your file | Answer document requests within hours |
| Days 3–5 | Commitment letter issued with conditions | Read the conditions; send what clears them |
| Condition deadline | You waive the financing condition | Only once the commitment is in hand and conditions are clear |
| Weeks before closing | Lawyer or notary prepares the documents | Arrange home insurance, closing funds, ID |
| Closing day | Lender funds; keys released | Keep your file unchanged until the money moves |
What happens on funding day?
Keep your file unchanged until the money moves, and check the closing date is inside your rate hold: RBC says its guarantee expires if the mortgage isn't funded within the period. Your lawyer or notary will need your void cheque, ID and the funds for closing costs a few days before closing.
Does the insurance premium fit inside your pre-approval?
With less than 20% down, the mortgage is insured and the premium is added to the loan. If your letter's amount includes insurance (most do), the premium has to fit inside it too. For the same $585,000 offer against a $540,000 letter:
| Down payment | Price minus down | Premium | Mortgage needed | Against the letter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% ($58,500) | $526,500 | $17,375 (3.30%) | $543,875 | $3,875 over |
| 15% ($87,750) | $497,250 | $14,918 (3.00%) | $512,168 | $27,833 to spare |
| 20% ($117,000) | $468,000 | none | $468,000 | $72,000 to spare |
At 10% down the premium pushes the loan past the letter; at 15% it fits; at 20% there's no premium at all. If you're close, ask your lender before you firm up whether the letter's figure includes insurance, and run your own numbers in the letter reader.
What if the appraisal and the premium both bite?
A low appraisal and the premium stack. In the example, a 4% low appraisal needs about $21,060 more cash; if the loan is also over the letter, you need to cover both. Keep a cash cushion of a few percent of the price until funding, and don't spend it on furniture before the keys are yours.
What should you ask your lender the day the offer is accepted?
- Does the amount on my pre-approval include the insurance premium, and does the price I've offered still fit?
- Will my rate hold cover the closing date, and can it be extended if closing moves?
- Which conditions are still open, and which documents do you need from me this week?
- When will you order the appraisal, and what happens if it comes in below the price?
- When will the commitment letter be issued, and what conditions will it carry?
Getting these answers in writing in the first day or two leaves time to fix a problem inside the financing condition rather than after it.
| Pre-approval | $540,000, dated October 20, 2026, 120-day hold |
|---|---|
| Accepted offer | $585,000 with $58,500 down |
| Closing | February 27, 2027 |
| Hold ends | 2027-02-17 |
| Closing vs hold | 10 days after it ends |
| Price minus down payment | $526,50010% down: insured |
| Mortgage needed, premium included | $543,875$17,375 premium at 3.30% |
| Against the letter | $3,875 over $540,000 |
| If the appraisal comes in 4% low | about $21,060 more cash |
| What to do now | Ask the lender to approve the larger amount, or add to the down payment, before you firm up |
Open this example in the calculator →Computed November 2, 2026.
Key terms
- Commitment letter
- The lender's final approval, issued after it reviews the property and your file, listing conditions you must meet before funding.
- Financing condition
- A clause in your offer that lets you walk away if you can't secure the mortgage within a set number of days.
- Funding
- The day the lender advances the mortgage money to your lawyer or notary, usually the closing date.
What this means for you
The day your offer is accepted, send it to your lender with the listing and any condo documents. Financing conditions are short, often a handful of business days, and the appraisal is usually the slowest part. Check the closing date against your rate hold before you firm up: in the example, the closing falls after the hold. Check the amount too: with 10% down the insurance premium is added to the mortgage, which takes it to $543,875, $3,875 over the $540,000 letter.
Keep a cash cushion for an appraisal gap, and keep your file unchanged until the money moves.
Frequently asked questions
Is a pre-approval enough to waive the financing condition?
Risky. A pre-approval hasn't seen the property; an appraisal below the price or a property the lender won't finance can still stop the deal.
How long does final mortgage approval take?
Often a few business days once the lender has the offer, documents and appraisal; condo documents or an unusual property can take longer.
Primary sources
- Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — Getting a mortgage pre-approval (rate lock 60 to 130 days) (effective October 15, 2025). Checked .
- RBC Royal Bank — Getting pre-approved (rate guaranteed up to 120 days; online is a soft check). Checked .
- CIBC — Mortgage pre-approval (up to 120 days from the certificate date, fixed rates). Checked .