Getting pre-approved means you receive a loan commitment from your mortgage company, based on a review of your credit and finances, before you have found a home. Having your credit pre-approved shows sellers that you are a qualified buyer and helps you establish a clear price range. The process is the same as a typical mortgage application, except that your application doesn’t include property information.

Your credit history is only one factor in qualifying for a loan, and having made some late payments does not have to keep you from buying a home. Someone who has consistently made payments on time in the past may have more financing options than someone who has not, but that does not mean a mortgage is off-limits if you have had credit problems..

There is generally no minimum down payment required for buying a home. Many first-time buyers believe they must be able to put down as much as 20% of a home’s purchase price in cash. That may have been true in the past, but many of the mortgage options available to today’s home-buyers require little or no down payment. With housing prices as high as they are, homeownership would be impossible for many people if not for these low down-payment options.