If you are in the market to buy a home and just don’t know where to start, I’d love to walk you through the process.  Let’s focus on the very first step.  

In this crazy market, before you even begin to look at houses online or in person, you are going to want to get a pre-approval.  So, what’s a pre-approval?  According to Investopedia, 

“a pre-approval is a preliminary evaluation of a potential borrower by a lender to determine whether they can be given a pre-qualification offer.”  

Hmmm…what does that really mean?  If you want to purchase a home, the seller needs to know that a lender has received enough information on the buyer’s finances indicating that the buyer is capable of obtaining financing for the pre-approved amount.  This is based on the initial information the lender required.

Think of it this way, if you were selling your home, you would want to be assure; ...