It is recommended that before you begin your house hunting you begin the loan pre-approval process. Getting pre-approved requires that a lender verify your financial information, and it serves as their commitment to lend a specified amount to you based on that information. It will give you a number of advantages.

First, when you find a property and make an offer, sellers will take your offer more seriously because you have a lender that is committed to backing your offer.

Secondly, it brings assurance that you're looking at homes you can confidently afford to finance. Your efforts will be focused on properties that match your purchasing ability.

Additionally you'll have a significant edge over the other buyers who aren't pre-approved. In situations where there are multiple offers on a property, this can be the difference between having your offer accepted or losing the property to another buyer.