First and foremost, there is more than just the house payment that goes into your mortgage, and sometimes people underestimate what they truly can afford. You need to speak with a lender and getting pre-approved will let you know exactly what you can afford, so you don’t look at houses that are outside of your budget. You need a pre-approved letter in order to submit an offer in on that house that you just love, so it’s smart to have that pre-approval in hand when going to look at houses. When you do go in to get pre-approved, it can also alert you to any problems with your credit, and your lender can give you the tools to fix them. Overall, getting pre-approved help you know what you can afford, if there are issues with your credit, and it will get you into your future home faster when submitting your offer.