A pre-approval is essentially the tick of approval from a bank or lender to go and buy a property. It signals that the bank or lender is comfortable giving you the loan amount, subject to their final conditions. We strongly recommend getting pre-approval if you are on the search for a property, or even just browsing, because it means you can act fast on a purchase if you find something you love.
A pre-approval doesn't cost anything, and there are no obligations to proceed with that bank or lender. They typically last for 6 months for the 'Big 4' banks (ANZ, CBA, Westpac, NAB) or 3 months for other lenders in the market. If you get to the end of your pre-approval period and haven't found anything, it's OK! We can renew it with the lender. Easy.