Finding best mortgage rates

[Brian Chen]

Hi,

I have a question on finding the best mortgage rates for a conventional loan.  I am at the pre approval stage and I keep hearing to shop around from big banks to mortgage brokers but the rates are not locked in at this stage.  So my question is should I choose to get pre approved with the bank/broker that gives me the best estimate?

I feel like I need to get pre approved by a few bank/broker and do the "shopping" when I am about to close on a house. I'm not sure how to pick a bank/broker to get pre approved with.

Is it possible to get pre approved, find a house you want to buy and at closing call up banks/brokers to get a better deal?  The reason why I want to get pre approved before I find my a rental property is because it makes things much easier and I'm able to act quicker.

Thanks!