Prepare to buy a house

ESCONDIDO – So it's time to buy that first home, or a homeowner is ready to move into a new place. But, there's more to a home purchase than picking a favorite listing and just moving in.

Here are the six things that buyers need to do to prepare to buy a home.

First, talk to a lender.

There are all sorts of loan programs and all sorts of different mortgage lenders out there. And homebuyers need to really find out what they can qualify for, what kind of programs are applicable to their situation and how to move forward with the loan process.

Clean up that credit report.

Not everybody's going to...