06/25/2026
"Should I get pre-approved before I start looking?" Short answer: yes — and here's why it's worth doing first.
A pre-approval shows you a realistic price range so you're shopping with confidence, tells sellers you're serious in a competitive market, and surfaces anything worth addressing early, before it becomes a surprise.
Think of it less as a hoop to jump through and more as a head start. It turns "I think I can afford this" into "I know what I can do" — and that clarity changes everything about how house hunting feels.