Any reputable real estate broker will "pre-qualify"
you for a mortgage before you start house-hunting. This process
includes analyzing your income, assets and present debt to
estimate what you may be able to afford on a house purchase.
Mortgage brokers, or a lender's own mortgage counselors can
also calculate the same sort of informal estimate for you.
Pre-approval makes you a strong buyer, welcomed by sellers.
With most other purchasers, sellers must tie the house up
on a contract while waiting to see if the would-be buyer can
really obtain financing. Pre-approval will also speed up the
entire mortgage procedure once you've found the house you
want.