Before you start house hunting, get pre-approved for a mortgage.

Pre-approval will help you figure out your price range, show real estate agents that you’re a serious buyer and give a seller confidence in your offer.

A lender will review your income, assets, debts and credit to decide whether to pre-approve you. This is a more rigorous process than pre-qualification.

You don’t have to get a mortgage from the lender that pre-approves you if another company offers you a better interest rate.

Before you seek pre-approval, get copies of your credit reports and check them for errors or problems.

Make sure your finances are in order before you apply for pre-approval.