A pre-approval involves much more than filling out a questionnaire. It is essentially going through entire mortgage application process and having lender give you an exact figure of how much money they are willing to lend you and at what interest rate. Having letter is like having cash in bank. This shifts your focus from financing to getting best real estate agent and finding best home that you can afford.

Pay attention to terms of letter before you start shopping for your home: What terms did your mortgage lender extend?

A simple prequalification where they took down your information and made an informal guess of what type of loan you will receive is usually not very effective. This basic prequalification of course is subject to running a full credit check, full disclosure of your assets, and no drastic changes in your financial situation.

Any lapsed payments on credit cards, student loans or a job change, can give your mortgage lender sufficient reasons to back out of deal.

Here’s how to get maximum benefits out of pre-approval process:

1. Start by using resources on any major search engine. Look for “mortgage lenders,” “home loans,” or “pre-qualify for a mortgage”.

A simple debt consolidation loan would take of all these troubles. By using equity in your home all debts would be paid off and you are left with a clean slate and generally spending less money every month.

One benefit to a debt consolidation loan that often overlooked is tax advantage. Interest on a home loan is tax deductible where interest on credit cards and cars are not.

Our office received a call early one morning from a man desperate to save his home and needed foreclosure help. He was already 90 days late on his mortgage and desperately needed to refinance and pull out money to pay off enormous debts.

He had just started a new job where he actually was making less money than before, and was in a real financial bind. His poor credit made it difficult for him to even qualify for a loan, let alone a low interest rate. To make matters worse, next day he received a notice of default on his property.

This man was worried that his family would have no place to live. He was reassured that we would save his home and help him through this difficult ordeal.