You’re in luck, we happen to be experts in this area. You can meet with any mortgage lender (i.e. your bank) and get pre-qualified at any time. Getting pre-qualified simply means a lender thinks, based on your credit score, income, and other factors, you should be able to get approved for a mortgage. It’s an informal and completely non-binding approval.

As you get closer to buying a home you’ll want to seek pre-approval. You can meet with a local bank, credit union, or mortgage broker. Or you can even get pre-approved online from any number of national online mortgage lenders.

Wherever you go, this pre-approval isn’t binding, but it’s a nice indicator of your ability to get approved for a mortgage. Most sellers will want to see a pre-approval within a couple days of receiving your offer.

There are a few things you will need to know before you apply, so take a look below.