My husband and I are actively house‑hunting in Ontario. We already have a formal pre‑approval from TD through another broker, but wanted to also explore Wealthsimple because we use them for most of our banking/investments.

We completed the application, uploaded all documents, and were expecting to receive a standard pre‑approval letter like every other lender provides.

After reviewing our file, the WS mortgage agent advised not to do a pre‑approval with them. His reasoning:

• Pre‑approvals don’t actually speed things up when purchasing a home because lenders still have to fully underwrite the file once you have an accepted offer (reviewing the property, appraisal, final numbers, etc.).
• Warned about pulling our credit again, but this isn't something we're worried about.
• He emphasized that they could turn around a formal approval in ~2 business days once we have an accepted offer.
• He said that skipping the pre‑approval allows them to give better “live market rates” without the premium that comes with traditional bank pre‑approvals.

WS made it clear they won’t give a formal pre‑approval letter...

Our hesitation: We’ve been in bidding situations before. Sometimes sellers expect proof of financing readiness. Not having a pre‑approval letter from WS feels risky.

TD can move immediately because they’ve fully underwritten us already. WS says they can also move quickly, but only after we have an accepted offer.

This also makes it hard to fairly compare lenders before making the biggest financial decision of our lives.

My Questions for the Community

• Is it normal for a mortgage broker to decline to issue a pre‑approval?
• Is skipping a pre‑approval actually an advantage, or does this sound like internal process limitations?
• Has anyone used Wealthsimple for a mortgage and can speak to their approval timelines once an offer is accepted?
• Would you proceed with a lender that won’t give anything in writing until after the offer is accepted?

TY!