Need your 'two cents'! How far in advance to get 'pre approved'?

[Ashley Sanchez]

Quick question: How far in advance should I seek a pre- approval or 'get qualified' for a mortgage loan to purchase a home? It seems that I have had to pass up at least 2 realtors now because after our first conversation I wasn't ready to 'buy today' or 'get qualified' to purchase a home. Then, 2 mortgage bankers haven't even called me back or even entertained my questions for preparation because after our first conversation I have over the minimum credit score to get qualified and they felt I didn't want to have them pull my credit to get qualified because I have over 700 credit score. My main focus right now is lowering my DTI that's 49% now and not have any inquiries hit my credit while paying down debt to lower my DTI. Should I worry about my DTI because of my score? When getting pre-approved, does that count as a hard or soft inquiry? Seems people forget you must build a relationship first before trying to find out a persons credit situation. I mean I may not buy today but depending upon your relationship you build I may buy today. I mean my thinking is if you try to rush the process then I will get stuck with a crappy house with issues and you walk away with a commission and I'm left stuck paying a note. Sorry it has been hard work to get my score where I want it and I don't want it to go down for my stupid decisions or small mistakes. I appreciate your 'two cents'! Lol!