Should you talk to a mortgage professional before house hunting?

Absolutely! Even if you haven't so much as picked out a house  yet, it's important to get prequalified first.

Why?... Prequalifying can help you determine what  monthly mortgage payment you can afford and how much money you can borrower. We do this by considering your income and debts (debt to income ratio), your employment and residence situations, your available funds for down payment and required reserves, and some other things. It's short and to the point, and we keep the paperwork to a minimum!

Once you qualify, we give you what's called a Pre-Qualification Letter (your agent might call it a "pre-qual"), which says that we are working with you to find the best loan to meet your needs and that we're confident you'll qualify for a loan for a certain amount.

More importantly, to a builder or home seller, you being pre-qualified is like you walked into their house with a suitcase full of cash to make the deal! They won't have to wonder if they're wasting their time because you'll never qualify for a mortgage to finance the amount you're offering for the home. You have the clout of a buyer ready to make the deal right now!

You can always use the calculators on our site to get an idea of how much mortgage you can afford. Click here to use the mortgage caculators.