We got pre approved right as we started looking and happened to buy in the timeframe but we prepared to look for months or years. We got realtor and mortgage recs from a friend and they worked great. We used Applied Mortgage and they were very on top of the process and communicated regular plus had the ability to track your application and underwriting on their app. Def get all your records in order first, that makes it easier. Know your mortgage is likely to the sold soon after you close. It’s normal.