To be preapproved for a mortgage loan means that a lender has evaluated your creditworthiness and has made a commitment to extend you a loan up to a specified amount. The preapproval will say how long it is valid for and may contain some other conditions for you to get the loan. But in general, a preapproval means that the lender is ready to make you a particular mortgage loan based on the information you provided at the time of your preapproval.