How do you find a good home lender?

6 Answers

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  fiscalgeek on May 26, 2010

  My first recommendation would be to not be afraid to talk to many people. It’s easy to think that once somebody has done some work for you that you are obligated to go with them, do not be fooled. Especially in today’s economy if they are not bending over backwards to help move on. Avoid directly talking to the big banks, I’ve done this 3 times unfortunately (slow learner) and while they seem to be motivated to help you at first once you get into the details of actually getting the mortgage I’ve had no end of problems and your original loan officer will often disappear.

  My best luck has been asking my friends, relatives, etc. and found an excellent broker from them. Personal referrals from people you trust are invaluable. You might also ask around at Church, odds are you have many brokers there. The bottom line is go in with as much information you can. http://www.zillow.com will often have some competitive listings of Mortgage rates in your area without you having to fill out any forms so you at least know what you are getting and ask for a PAR quote meaning no points and no origination fees you can then compare apples to apples with the other lenders.

  By no means am I a mortgage professional but I have had 6 mortgages so I guess I have learned from the school of hard knocks. Hope that helps.

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  Pinyo on May 26, 2010

  First, congratulation on getting ready to become a home owner! I agree with Fiscalgeek, ask friends and family for referral. Or you can ask around on your own. You can even use services like LendingTree to shop around. But whatever you do, don’t use the ones recommended by your agent. Usually, they have some kind of arrangement that’s usually unfavorable for you and good for them.

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  biblemoneymatters on May 26, 2010

  My suggestion would be to ask people you know – and ask on Twitter. That’s what I did recently and found a great (and helpful) mortgage broker on twitter @mortgagereports (who is also a blogger). T

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  CentsibleLife on May 26, 2010

  Ditto what the other responders said. I also talked to banks I was already working with. We ended up going with our credit union for our last refi, and I can’t recommend credit unions enough. They aren’t “big” banks and are very customer service oriented. I’ve had some people tell me they have a great mortgage broker, but in my experience most mortgage brokers aren’t going to find you the best deal. I guess it’s kind of like anything else I can’t put 100% faith in any company, especially if they are making a HUGE profit. Just keep talking to people and banks and you’ll find a good lender.

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  JoeTaxpayer on May 26, 2010

  Shop around for the best rate first. You realize this isn’t like buying a car, if the bank goes under, you have their money and will owe it to the new bank. Once the mortgage closes, you may never talk to them again. On the flip site, I was happy to find a local bank that had a track record of *not* selling their loans. I was able to refinance twice with them with no cost and minimal paperwork. I imagine that the local lender will be easier to deal with if you have any payment issues, at least you’ll have someone you can go visit. Good luck. Come back here and let us know how you did. Joe

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  ChristianPF on May 26, 2010

  thanks for the great responses, but I am not sure why this is just showing up now… I posted this question last October when I was buying my house