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Before you go get a loan to buy a home, there is some preliminary work you need to do and some things you need to know to make the borrowing process easier.

First, you need to choose a lender. Ask family and friends whom they would recommend. Interview more than one lender, preferably a local banker, a mortgage broker, and a lender from a national bank. Ask questions such as how long they’ve been in business, how long they take to close the average loan, and how much experience they have with loans you’re interested in, such as FHA or VA, or a jumbo conforming loan.

Most lenders won’t choose to share their list of fees until you apply for a loan. That means sharing your personal information. The lender needs your personal information to decide whether to give you the loan and how much to charge you in interest. If there are any negatives in your credit history, now is the time to come clean.

Once you apply for a loan, your lender will run your credit. She will contact one or more of the three credit reporting bureaus to get your credit report and your credit score. If you have late payments, an account in collections, or a dispute with someone that has resulted in a judgment against you, you need to tell your lender before she runs your credit.

Your lender could help you fix derogatories, especially if it’s going to take time for them to heal. According to a study by myfico.com, a 30-day delinquency can drop an otherwise good credit score by as much as 90 points. And only top credit scores of 740 or higher get the best interest rates.

A delinquency stays on your report for seven years, says credit reporting bureau Experian. According to MyFICO.com, the difference between a credit score of 700 and 698 can cost you more than $13,378 in interest on a $165,000 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. That’s because a 700 credit score may get you a 4.5 percent interest rate, while the 698 score gets a 4.875 rate.

Your lender will know how to help you raise your scores, if your scores are too low to get a good rate, because your rate will also make your monthly payments higher. Once you repair your negative credit problem, take proof of payment or release of lien to your lender. You may have to wait a month or two or three for your credit scores to reflect your improved credit history.

Tell your lender all you can about your finances. Don’t shave time off your present job or inflate your earnings if you’re self-employed. Trying to reach for more home than you can truly afford can be a problem for you now and later. The lender may catch you and decline the loan, or at worst, you could be committing mortgage fraud.

Once your lender knows all the problems that could impact the loan, and all the steps you’ve taken to improve your credit, that’s the time to make your application. From there it will take about 30 to 45 days for the loan to close.

Most homebuying advice says to apply for a loan before you do anything else, but it’s a much better idea to take a few weeks or months to get your credit to the best place you can. That’s the best way to afford more home.

Finding a home is a lot like finding the your true love. Love makes your heart skip a beat. Your feet immediately start to spin around the empty living room and imagine yourself entertaining grandly as you waltz through the dining room. And by the time you get to the master bedroom, well….it’s love.

But if you’ve ever been in a bad relationship, you know it can start with that head over heels feeling. You remember that feeling. It’s the one that makes you do stupid things that you regret later, like blithely overlooking flaws you wouldn’t have put up with if you were in your right mind.

When you go shopping for homes, remember that you’re vulnerable. Cupid may strike with his bow when you least expect it, causing you to fall in love – with the wrong house.

Oh, that won’t happen to me, you say. But it can. You’re a fool for love. If you want to keep your head and get the home that’s really right for you and your household, follow these tips:

Shop Within Your Means

The wrong house will be too much trouble and money. Your lender will give you a price limit that you can comfortably afford based on your income and current debts. These are time-tested formulas that are designed to protect you from getting overextended and putting the bank’s investment in jeopardy.

Work with a real estate professional

Look online and you’ll fall in love with a home out of your league. You’re welcome to look at homes online, but try to stay in your price range. If you look at homes that are more expensive than you can afford, you’re bound to fall in love with more luxuries and space than you can comfortably afford. Share your wish list with a real estate professional, and let him or her preview homes for you.

Shop for the right-sized home, not the biggest

The wrong home is too big. While conventional wisdom says buy the most home that you can for the money, buying the biggest home you can isn’t smart. Think about the operating costs of heating, cooling, cleaning and maintaining more square footage than you really need. Instead, think about how you actually use a home. Have a use for every space.

Shop For Your Lifestyle

The wrong home is perfect – for someone else. If you’re single or travel a lot, you don’t want to mow 10 acres. Consider a condominium or gated community. If you have kids, you may be more interested in neighborhoods with lots of options for kids to learn and do.

Consider the commute

The wrong home dazzles you with its elegance, but there’s a price. Many of the newest homes offer the most amenities, but they’re on cheaper land far from city centers. Ask yourself how long you’ll spend commuting to your job every day to live in that particular community?

Don’t Be Fooled By a Pretty Face

The wrong home isn’t just pretty, it has to meet your needs. Where do the kids put their backpacks when they come home from school? Is it easy to let the dog outside and clean muddy paws when he comes back in? Do you have the space you need for your home office or art studio? Are there enough bathrooms for the morning rush?

Don’t Overlook A Wallflower

Many homes are affordable because they’re older and need work. Many times, cosmetic updates can turn a so-so home into a treasure. No home is perfect, so don’t be side-tracked by ugly wallpaper.

Fall in love with the right house

The right house may not be the prettiest, biggest or the newest, but it will be the one that most suits the various needs of your household. When you’re comparing homes think about your wish list and which home comes closest to meeting your price, number of bedrooms, condition, space, features and the amenities of the neighborhood.

Once you move in, you’ll see that there’s no falling in love that feels as good as knowing you made the right choice

It’s natural to want to save money when you’re making a purchase as large as a home. You want to buy the best home in the best neighborhood at the best price, and to do that, you may think you have to shop in the bargain bin.

FSBOs (for sale by owner,) foreclosures, and short sales aren’t as plentiful as equity listed homes — homes listed with a real estate agent by the seller. You may even scour the MLS (multiple listing service) for signs of desperate sellers, such as homes priced AS-IS, or homes that have been on the market for months.

The home doesn’t suit your needs. A home is a good buy only if it suits your family’s needs for space, features, comfort, and function. If you buy a home without enough bedrooms or baths, it’s not as comfortable or functional.

A bad fit costs you later. To get out of a home that’s too small, too old, or too far from where you need to be, you’ll likely to pay more in transaction costs to sell the home and buy another than if you’d chosen more wisely in the first place.

Bargains are rare. If a home is priced lower than others in the area, there’s a reason. Sometimes bank-owned home will appear to be a bargain compared to other similar nearby homes, but you may notice a real difference in the way it’s been maintained. It’s not much of a bargain if you find out that all the appliances have been stolen or all the copper wiring has been pulled out of the walls.

The home needs updating. A home priced below market value usually requires expensive repairs or updates. Are you willing to perform the work or pay someone else to do the work? Any remodeling you do will be at today’s prices. Before you buy, get a home inspection and then talk to professionals who can help you bring the home up to today’s standards.

You lose ground trying to lowball the seller. Just as you want the home you buy to appreciate in value, sellers purchased their homes as investments, too. They want to net as much as possible, because they’ve already taken on the risks of buying and maintaining a home. That makes sellers less willing to negotiate on homes that are well priced and well maintained.

If a home has been on the market for a long time without a price reduction, there’s usually a good reason. You have an unmotivated, unrealistic, or upside-down seller, any of which could waste your time unmercifully.

An unmotivated or unrealistic seller simply won’t negotiate to your level. For example, for-sale-by-owner homes are typically priced the same as listed homes, even though the sellers aren’t paying real estate agent commissions, including for your agent, if you have one. Why would you pay the seller not to represent your interests?

Furthermore, a bank foreclosure or bank-approved short sale could take months to close. What if interest rates go up before you close? You may get the home at a bargain price, but the savings could evaporate in higher interest payments.

Right now, home prices are still below previous market highs. Mortgage interest rates are hovering near historic lows. And inventory levels are improving in most areas.

Under these circumstances, you’re buying a home at a bargain already. The best strategy for today is not to try to beat the seller down, but to offer a fair price for the home you think is best for your household.

 Written by Blanche Evans