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Selecting the best mortgage lender: 4 Tips you should follow

Author: Jessica Bennet
Community Mentor
Ask Jessica
Posted on: 16th Aug, 2005 10:52pm
A genuine and knowledgeable mortgage lender can help you secure a perfect home loan. This in turns helps you own your dream home. Home loans are available from different sources-



  • Banks

  • Credit unions

  • Mortgage bankers

  • Mortgage brokers


You can easily find out a lender in your area. But, not all the lenders are trustworthy. Many unethical home lenders are also there in the market who take advantage of the gullible home buyers. Here are 4 tips to find out the best mortgage lender.

1. Get reference from trustworthy people

One good and easy way to select the best lender is to get recommendations from a trustworthy person. That person may be your close friend or a relative. Ask him/her to share his/her individual experience. From the experience of these persons, prepare a list of what to do and what not to do while taking out a home loan. You can also ask a trustworthy real estate agent for recommending you a suitable lender.

2. Do online shop

You can shop for home loans and rates online. You can shop online without providing any personal information such as your contact details, social security numbers etc. This will help you know about the market rates and fees. In order to simplify your search you can specify the type of loan you are looking for such as a 15-year adjustable rate mortgage or a 30-year fixed rate mortgage. This will help you compare the different loan options available before you.

3. Contact mortgage lenders

With the information that you have gathered you can contact your bank with whom you have your checking account. The bank may be interested to offer you a loan. You need to carefully examine the deal offered by the bank.


You also need to visit branches of trustworthy local banks, credit unions and community banks. After getting the loan offers from them, you need to make a comparison on the loan rates and terms.

4. Contact mortgage brokers

Once you have gathered information on loan offers by different lenders, you need to visit few brokers too. Brokers are well connected with a large number of lenders. Check out whether or not the deals offered by them are better. You need to however check out the records of the brokers with Better Business Bureau (BBB).


By following the above 4 tips, you will surely be able to find out the best lender that you are looking for.
Posted on: 16th Aug, 2005 10:52 pm
Hi Mortgagefit Community,

Continuation of the last post :Common Question on Pre-Approval

Ask these questions to find the best lender:

Choosing the right lender is indeed very difficult. Analyze your financial situation and then proceed with information about the lender and loan process. The following questions will make your task easier.

Information about Lender:
  • For how many years have you been in the mortgage industry?
  • If needed, can you process the loan faster?
  • What are the different types of mortgage programs offered?
  • Can you give me the references of those people whose loans you have processed?

About Loan Process:
  • Where is the mortgage loan processed?
  • What is the total time required to process a mortgage loan?
  • Can the Lock-in also be extended if closing gets delayed?
  • Are the latest updates on loan processing available?
  • How long does it take to get a loan approved?

Analyze your Financial Situation:
  • Do you offer any special programs with lower interest rates or reduced closing cost for the first time buyers?
  • How much of a loan amount can be borrowed on a mortgage?
  • What can be done to fix the past credit problems?
  • What can be done to qualify for the required loan?

Please include these points on your guide. Hope it will help more.

Thanking the Community,
Samantha
Thanks again, these are very helpful. Why don't you join our Mentor Club and start compiling it more formerly? I will take these questions into account.

To know more about Mentor club , please visit ....

Thanks
Sam
Posted on: 16th Aug, 2005 11:43 pm
Hi MortgageFit Community,

Know about mortgage fees and Insurance

A mortgage requires the payment of a number of fees. A borrower should ask a few basic questions before he pays for his mortgage. Here is a list of some of the obvious questions.

Knowing fee structure

  • Is the originating fee a part of the closing costs?

  • When can the Interest Rate and Discount Points be locked?

  • For how long is the Lock-In period valid?

  • What is the durability of the point quoted by you verbally?

  • What will be the total of closing costs?

  • How much do you charge as 'junk' fees?

  • How many days of interest are figured by you in prepaid?

  • Can any of the fees be negotiated at the time loan process?

  • What are the fees that need to be paid at the time of application?

  • Are the credit report fee and the appraisal fee required at the time of application?

  • What will be the principle amount and its interest that needs to be paid every month?

  • Is any extra fee required if the rate goes down?

  • Can the fixed rate be converted without refinancing, if yes what is the conversion fee?

  • Can a loan be pre-paid at any point of time?

  • Is there any pre-payment penalty associated with this loan?
About Home Insurance

  • Do you think that an individual inspection is required to rate the property?

  • Do you provide any premium discounts if homeowner's insurance is carried with you?

  • Does the Home owner insurance policy have any provision that covers personal property that is lost, stolen or damaged within the premises?

  • How much will the insurance company pay and for how long if the house is completely destroyed?

Please try to include these queries in your guide. I hope it will help others.

Thanks,
Samantha
Posted on: 18th Aug, 2005 08:52 pm
Im confused. What is/are mortage financing?
Posted on: 11th Jul, 2008 10:07 am
Welcome Alisa,

When you are taking loan against you property or buying a property with a loan but the loan is secured by the property, then it is called the mortgage financing. I think some lender can phrase it better.

Hope you understand. So before you choosing any lender to take out a mortgage loan, you should ask these above mention questions to the lender to find the best lender.
Posted on: 12th Jul, 2008 02:43 am
Some great tips in this thread...Thanks for sharing, this will be sure to help many people here with questions.
Posted on: 14th Jul, 2008 07:28 am
There are a lot of websites online that share peoples mortgage reviews and mortgage complaints.

Check out "http://www.mortgage-lender-reviews.com"

Not as much info as the forums, but still a good resource.

[Deactivated link as per forum rules. Thanks.]
Posted on: 02nd Aug, 2008 06:28 pm
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