Quicken and its off shoot, Rocket, are not low cost providers and the underwriters are not the best. I would not bother with a "pre-approval" until you are ready to buy. The pre-approval is usually for a short period. Make sure your credit is in order and you have accumulated the down payment. You will need to document several months of in-flows of money, especially gifts and loans. If you know your credit score, you can get a quote from AimLoan or other lenders.
Good to know, will avoid Quicken/Rocket. They make it seem really easy, so that's the appeal.
Will accumulate the down payment before we apply for a loan. Our credit scores are both good/high, and no debt so no debt-to-income ratio stuff to worry about.
Right now, my husband is a grad student until May but we're hoping he's employed within 6 months of graduation, really hoping it's much sooner than that. It will take a few months to accumulate the rest of the down payment, so hoping that's enough work history for him. If not, I am sure my income would be enough to get us approved for the amount we want to borrow (probably a $150,000 house at most, so loan would be around $130,000 or less).
Thanks for all the advice! Feel free to add more.