If you're about to start house hunting then you need to make sure you're as prepared as possible for the process you're about to get yourself into. Especially if the house hunting you're about to do is for your first home. Shopping for homes for sale can be tough and a lot of work. There's just so much that goes into buying a home and becoming a home owner. That's why you need to be very prepared before you even start looking at any houses for sale. If you're ready for any situation then you won't have much to worry about.

As long as you hire and work with a talented real estate agent then you will be ready for everything. They'll sit down with you and let you know everything that goes into shopping for real estate. Any good real estate agent will have you as prepared as you can be before you even go to your first home showing or browse real estate listings. So, if you listen to what your real estate agent has to say, you will be calling yourself a new homeowner in no time.

One thing that your real estate agent will prepare you for is the mortgage process. Unless you have a sizeable savings account, you're going to need a mortgage to help pay for your new home. You're going to be meeting with mortgage brokers during the home buying process. Your broker will let you know what you're going to be getting yourself into as well as options at your hand. One such option, that you might not be aware of, is a pre-qualifying mortgage loan. There are some advantages to being approved for a mortgage before you even start looking at homes on the market.

Pre-qualifying advantages include giving you the ability to make the home buying process go quicker. If you get a pre-qualifying mortgage that sets your home spending budget. That means you can look only at houses you know you can afford and will save you time by not looking at properties outside of your price range. If you find yourself in a bidding war, one weapon at your dispersal is the pre-qualified mortgage. A seller sees that and are more keen to sell to you because you have all the proper financing in place.

A pre-qualified mortgage is something worth considering during the home buying process. Just think of all the paperwork you'll be avoiding by already having a pre-qualified mortgage in place. You won't have to worry about getting the proper financing once you've made an offer. You'll already have it.

Is there a difference between pre-approval & pre-qualification?