Before you begin house-hunting, you should meet with a lender and be pre-qualified. This will help you determine the price most suited to your ability to pay and your comfort level. Being pre-qualified gives you a number of advantages.
You will be assured that you're looking at homes you can confidently afford to finance. Your efforts will be focused on properties that match your financing abilities.
When you find a property, sellers will take your offer more seriously given that you have a lender that has committed to backing your offer.
You will have an edge over other buyers who aren't pre-approved. In situations where there are multiple offers on a property, this can be the difference between having your offer accepted or losing the property to another buyer.