Preapprovals/Prequalifications

Q: My wife and I will soon be moving from Georgia to Indiana, where I will be engaged in graduate study, with my stipend of $12,000 a year. We would like to be preapproved for a loan before we begin house hunting in June. She is an elementary school teacher and has been the past four years. When we apply for a loan, she would still be employed. However, after the move she will have to find a new position and we can't know when that will be. How much does this complicate the preapproval process? Will our preapproval be contingent upon her securing a job there or on her present position? We've never bought a house before.
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Q: I am planning on being married next year, and we have been talking about when and how to buy our first home. There are many questions we have. What do you think should be our first move? We are worried that it will get completely out of our range if we don't do something as soon as possible.
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Q: Should I get "prequalified" or "preapproved" before looking for a house? What is the difference?
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Q: My husband and I have an 'offer in compromise' from the IRS for Federal and State tax liens. We are currently renting and would like to qualify for a purchase. However, our IRS commitment is not paid off until the end of August. Would you see any reason why we could not begin the process for preapproval and start house hunting? Our credit scores are in the upper 600's and our debt-to-income ratio is below 50%. We would like to make our purchase within the next few months.
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