Learn a few tips to burn the risks of taking out a mortgage -- and get you into a home loan you can afford.

• First of all, get an idea of how much you can afford to borrow by using an online property loan calculator.
• Do some paperwork before going to a lender.
• Get pre approval for a loan mortgage. Pre-approval actually means you have a commercial property loan lined up, which makes your offer smarter to sellers. You don't have to accept a loan for real estate from a company that pre-approves it.
• If you doubt interest rates are likely to increase before you close, pay to lock your rate readily.
• Think of buying discount points to cut your interest rate on loans only if your purpose is to be in the house long enough to recover that money and then some.
• If you are low-income or first-time homebuyer, search for financing through your state board of housing loan. At this time, in the tough credit market, one needs a down payment for property loans.