which lenders should I choose from?

Mortgage_Applicant

Am I shopping for a mortgage too early , if I haven't even put my own current house on the market yet? just seemed silly to put my own house on the market before I'm sure I have a mortgage for a new house lined up!

I guess offers tend to be valid for around 6 months, so should be long enough to get house sold. is this a normal approach, to get offer before putting house on the market, and without having yet decided on the actual house I want to buy? I guess its an "offer conditional on survey"?

GMS

You could get a 'Decision in Principle' from a lender but these are only valid for short periods, often as short as a month.

You would need a property to submit an application.

You will never be sure of a mortgage until you get an offer so you may wish to consider looking at possibilities prior to putting your house on the market.

Danger is that lender(s) could change criteria between DIP and application but this is unlikely to be a massive change.

May be worth speaking to a broker to guage options then choose how to proceed from there