Your home is one the greatest investments you will ever make. Deciding on a house can be tricky, but even once you’ve found that perfect property, the battle is far from over. Getting the bank’s approval for a mortgage can be a complicated, convoluted process that will leave you wondering why you wanted this in the first place. To avoid ever getting yourself into such a situation, educate yourself now on the mistakes many make!

Not Getting Pre-Approved

According to Landmark Home Warranty, even before you find a house worth buying, you can get preapproval for a mortgage. Essentially, this is when you go to a lender before even knowing the property you want, and get approved up to a certain amount. To get approved your credit will receive a hard inquiry, however, so don’t do this until you’re completely positive you’ll be buying in the next 90 to 120 days, usually. If you are certain, however, getting pre-approved will help you make decisions as far as what you can actually afford in a house, instead of guessing and encountering credit problems or getting approved for a lot less than you thought.

Choosing the Wrong Type

Did you know there are actually eight different types of mortgages? There are conforming loans, nonconforming loans, and even risky things such as jumbo loans! Often what varies between one and the other is the size of the down payment, the overall borrowing cost, and fixed-rate versus adjustable rates of interest. According to Chris Murray Home Loans, mortgage payments can get complicated by adjustable rates, which is interest that can change over time for better or worse. If you’re in the for the long-haul, a fixed-rate (one that never changes) might make more sense. But if you’re looking for a quick turn-over on this property, an adjustable rate is often fine to have, as they usually start pretty low.

Forgetting About Credit

This one you should already be familiar with—but that’s because credit is just so essential to getting your mortgage approved. Often people just check their score, and feel at ease that it’s in a comfortable place for the kind of mortgage you want to secure. But there’s a lot of ways you can mess it up too while in the process of finding a house, such as changing jobs, making large purchases on credit, or closing a credit account.

In the end, it’s all about checking your ins and outs before and while applying for a mortgage. Your future home shouldn’t make you bankrupt, simply because you didn’t prepare properly to know the type of mortgage needed for it or the credit process. Do your homework before taking such a big step!

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