The wrong answer is to be researching homes without researching financing. You should know what you qualify for, what you almost qualify for, and what you can qualify for with some changes. (Example: Lower monthly debt payments.) The more you know the more you are likely to choose a good lender, buy the home you want, and have a good purchasing experience. The fact is the less you know the more likely it is to hurt you. Too often people get tied up with a low skilled lender, with a lender that is too busy, or inexperienced.

The mortgage approval process is forgiving of many things, but these items will throw a serious wrench in the works. The following is a list of things that I see most often as a Loan Officer, that derail the process of getting approved for a mortgage loan.

No one was more surprised than I, when I got the mortgage and closed on my home.

I heard it is because someone told him his loan officer was no Santa Claus.