By asking the right questions, and knowing exactly what your needs are, you can find the right loan for you. There are different approaches that you can take while mortgage shopping that can either cost or save you money.

It is true that the better qualified you are, the lower your interest rate will be. However, there are mortgages available for almost everyone; it's the interest rates and/or the down payments that vary.

Before speaking with a lender, decide the maximum monthly payment that you are comfortable committing to. Then when you discuss mortgage pre-approval with your lender, it is easier for you to determine what price range you are actually comfortable with, as you will have already considered the maximum monthly payment you would accept. It is easy to get lured into buying a home that is a few thousand more than you had planned - but this seemingly small amount can sometimes add quite a bit to your monthly payment, and a very large amount in the life of the loan.

Do your research on the types of mortages available to you and find the one that best suits your needs. There are a number of considerations to be made in terms of finding the best mortgage for each individual:

*What type of market are you in? Are the interest rates rising or falling?

*Do you want a fixed rate mortgage, where your monthly mortgage payment remains the same throughout the loan period? Of course, the tax and insurance portion of your payment will probably increase.

*What are your long term goals? Do you intend to resell the property after only a few years so that you only need the mortgage for a short period of time? There are other mortgage vehicles that would probably serve this scenario better than a fixed rate mortgage would - consider a variable or a step-rate mortgage to take advantage of the earlier low interest rate.