When a lender or broker figures out how much you qualify to borrow
Before shopping for a home, you can save yourself a lot of time by first finding out whether or not you are likely to qualify for the loan you want. Also, you will also get a rough idea of the price range that you can afford on a home. To do this, a lender or broker will look at your income, debt, assets and credit history.
I fall goes well, you will receive a prequalification letter that you can then show Realtors, so they feel confident about investing time and energy in your home search.