When the time comes that you are ready to start looking for a home, getting in touch with a reputable mortgage loan officer is critical. Every seller in todays market is making sure that the buyer interested in their home has a strong pre-approval. This tells them that you are able to get the money needed to purchase their home. When you get your pre-approval at that time you will get an idea of what your monthly mortgage payments will be and what interest rates are on the type of loan you want. You will also have different options on how much of a down payment you would like to put down.