"Interest rates are prices, and sometimes you get what you pay for."

One of the questions that I get asked all the time, which stumps me a little bit more than you might think it should, is "what is your best mortgage rate?". Typically when people ask this question they mean what is the lowest rate that I have access to, and while it should be easy enough to answer, the truth is that this question represents a common yet fundamental misunderstanding about mortgages and interest rates.

Before you can buy a house, you need to make sure you can afford it and that there will be financing options available to you. This is where a pre-approval comes in. As mortgage lending criteria has become more strict over the years, the pre-approval and the increased certainty and confidence that goes with it has become an essential first step for the would-be-home-buyer.

Real estate transactions are complex; there's no doubt about it. With the number of moving parts and the drawn out timeline, buying a house is one of the more complicated transactions the average person will undertake in a lifetime. Luckily, you don't have to go it alone. Throughout the home buying process, a team of real estate professionals will support and guide you along the way. Like Frodo on his quest to deliver Sauron's ring to the fires of Mount Doom, a dependable team of trusty sidekicks will get you where you need to be.

There are many ways to cause yourself stress and frustration in a real estate transaction. Failing to properly set an adequate condition of finance when drafting an offer to purchase is one of the easiest ways to send your stress meter through the roof (as well as the stress meter of the professionals helping you).