I want to "pre-qualify" for a home loan.  I have an idea of where I
want to move to in about 3-4 months (Southeast Idaho or northern
Utah), but I have no idea about where to start or who to apply with to
get "pre-approved" for a home martgage loan.  By pre-qualifying, I
should be able to secure a home purchase quicker when I decide what I
want.  Where should I start?

If you have good credit, I'd start in the newspaper "Homes For Sale"
section, there are ads there for lenders. Countrywide is good. Also,
keep in mind, pre-approval letters are usually only good for a
specific time period, 60-90 days.

Keep in mind - do NOT let them run your credit too often, that will
lower your good credit score.

I prequalify people for mortgages.  It's part of my job.  I am a loan
officer for a large bank.  If you have questions I am happy to answer
them. The other comment is correct, do not apply to several different
lenders and ask each of them to run a credit report. There should be
no charge for prequalifying you for a mortgage, but each lender will
need to know exactly what your credit history is. I recommend a recent
article in last  weekend's Wall Street Journal which covers quite a
few murky areas.  Consumer Reports magazine also has some good advice
in past issues.  Some large lenders can prequalify you in any state.
It usually takes about 15 minutes by phone for me to collect the
information from someone who wants to be pre-qualified.  I ask
questions about their income, assets and debts, employment history,
that sort of thing.  There is a formula you can use as a point of
reference to figure out the size of mortgage you might qualify for. 
There is never an obligation for a pre-qual.  One thing I would guard
against is a selling realtor offering to have an in-house mortgage
person qualify you for a mortgage - remember:  the realtor represents
the seller, and you are the buyer.  I see that as a conflict of
interest, and would not want my mortgage information in a file in the
same office as the realtor which represents the seller.  It's
something to think about anyway.  Good luck to you!