Securing a mortgage could be a quick process or a lengthy one. YNN's Solomon Syed met with a Mortgage Sales Manager, who told us the don'ts of preparing to secure a mortgage.

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NATIONWIDE -- Unless you're buying your home with cash, you'll likely need to secure a mortgage. Depending on your financial situation, it could be a very quick process or a lengthy one.

"The process of getting qualified varies immensely. Most people I speak with can get qualified within 15 to 20 minutes. More often than not, it can be as simple as a phone conversation. Those who have a unique situation, maybe have some challenging credit or are self employed, where it would require some further documentation, will take longer," said Phil Reece, Mortgage Sales Manager.

If you do have challenging credit there are things you can do to make it better, but some actions you take might make it harder to get qualified.

“People will often try to do things that they think is in their best interest to prepare for a mortgage, but may hurt them at the end of the day. Often people think getting a new credit card to try and establish some credit is what they need to do before getting a mortgage, when in fact getting new debt may work against you if you already have good scores,” said Reece.

It's not only your other loans that might impact your ability to secure a mortgage. What you do to help others might have an effect on your chances too.

"Any debt that you incur will appear on your credit report. So, if you co-sign on a student loan or a car loan with someone else that debt lives on your report until that debt is paid by the person you have helped out. Any new debt is baggage for the approval process. It's important to make sure that if you're planning on buying a home in the near future, that you consider any debt that you may be getting proceeding that mortgage," said Reece.

Another important factor to consider is moving your assets. Consolidation may help your budgeting; but, it may also cause problems acquiring a mortgage in the long run.