Looking to purchase real estate is a huge step in a person's life but there is one major step that should never be skipped... PRE-APPROVAL for a mortgage! One should never start seeking out properties without knowing there price constraints, as your taste in a home may be more expensive then what can be afforded. A great analogy is " you would want to test drive a Ferrari and find out you can only afford a used Volkswagen". Once you test drive something more expensive it is extremely difficult to go back. Take our advice, no one wants to be disappointed.
With that in mind here is a great article on the pre-approval process, take a look!
http://allaboutpre-approvedmortgage.blogspot.ca/2010/08/mortgage-pre-approval-process.html
