As a realtor, I heartily recommend that any buyer check in with a financial planner before starting the house-hunt. Two people earning the same salary might want to spend different amounts of money on a mortgage if one of them is a saver and one of them is a spender; if one expects a promotion and one does not; if one expects to get married and the other doesn't.

A good broker can help you with a snapshot, but financial planners are great at seeing the whole movie.