Which should come first? Pre-Approval for mortgage or Putting House on Market?

[Anonymous]

I would like to put my home on the market (I fully expect it to take quite a while to sell) and I'm not sure what order things should be done in?   Do I get a pre-approval for a mortgage and THEN put my house on the market or vice versa?

[trb]

Unless you have enough money to pay for two mortgages, I would put the house on the market and wait until you at least have some offers before you get a pre-approval. Definitely get a pre-approval before you go house hunting. Best of luck to you.

[ShanetheMortgageMan]

If you don't know you'd be able to qualify for a new mortgage, then if you put your home on the market, accepted an offer, and then found out you didn't qualify for a mortgage, what would you do?