What is the first step when looking for a home loan?
Most experts recommend that you should get pre-qualified for a loan first. By being pre-qualified, you will know exactly how much house you can afford. Almost all mortgage lenders now pre-qualify people, and many of them can even do it on the internet.

You can also do your own affordability calculations; most recent consumer books on home buying include steps to doing so, as do various real estate Internet sites.

How do you qualify as a first time buyer?
In general, lenders define first time home buyer as someone who has not owned any real estate – whether a personal residence, vacation home or investment property – during the past three years. Lenders verify an applicant’s status by examining their income tax returns, checking to see that the individual did not take any deductions for mortgage interest or property taxes.