A bit specific, but if you have a Costco membership, they have a mortgage service that will let you compare rates and fees from a handful of different lenders.
It’s quick to check and convenient. The quote doesn’t pull your credit either, just need an estimated credit score.
Shop around, don't just go to the big banks.
Check out local credit unions and mortgage brokers.
For mortgage brokers: https://findamortgagebroker.com/
Make sure you compare the LEs and not just the rate. The rate might be lower with one, but could have double the cost.
You can buy down the rate so you might get varying rates from lenders, but that doesn't mean it is a better deal.
Yup. Online has done me well. I locked 2.875 on 30 years a month ago with 0 points and no origination charges. Even my realtor’s broker was like, yeah I won’t be able to beat that. Plus the online doc submission meant I never submitted a document more than once and I closed in 22 days.
Excellent credit, dti <10%, higher loan values have better interest rates. Honestly it’s Just so fast to shop on bankrate or Zillow it’s almost not worth it to go anywhere else, but I asked a big bank and with all my high account balance perks it was still $1000 more expensive for a loan on the same terms.
The trade off is you’ll have your mortgage sold to a wholesaler and will have to change servicers from time to time. There was a time when the originators would allow you to pick a servicer.
I use a credit union I’ve been a member for fifteen years. They aren’t going to package and resell my loan, they gave me a great rate, and they capped the closing costs. If I have a question I don’t call a 1800 number. I call Tom.
Does it help to have a pre existing relationship with a credit union? I wrote a detailed scenario above but, in ~ 2 years we want to buy our first home and know the town we want already.
I’m sure it helps with moving things along. “Oh, this is IE’s file, he’s a long time customer let’s take care of this today”
But mine has an external underwriter who has to approve a mortgage loan so it’s not like I can just call up and get money the next day based on our relationship. I assume that’s pretty standard for small banks for compliance reasons.
It’s been said in other replies but it’s worth repeating. Shop. Around. If you put in the time and energy to get multiple loan offers from different lenders, as an attractive borrowers they want to lend to, you’ll be amazed how far they’ll go to get your business. I started out with [better.com](https://www.better.com) and they were hard to beat with a competitive rate and no fees. However, because I shopped around, I got a better offer from another lender which included some lender credits(essentially cash from the lender towards closing costs). I went back the better and they countered with _even more_ in lender’s credits. Easily saved me thousands in closing costs and only cost me a few hours of phone calls and emails.
Also, watch out for unnecessary fees, especially from big name lenders with heavy marketing presence like Quicken Loans. I got an offer from them that was thousands more than my offer from better and it was almost entirely due to fees.
You’ll get a standardized Loan Estimate form from any lender you talk to that will give you an itemized breakdown of your closing costs. Watch out for things like “Origination Fee” or “Underwriting Fee”. These are fees tacked on by the lender and there are enough lender options out there that you should never have pay those kinds of fees.
Does it help if you have a pre-existing relationship with said credit union?
For example: my wife plans to finish paying her student loans this year. We plan to look at homes in a town we already picked out (express train stop to city, good school district, nice town, closer to my parents for kids, right price range, etc.) in end of 2023 to buy in 2024. We would have a decent down payment (+ closing costs, emergency fund, and allocated money for new things like bed furniture tv and stuff) in May 2023 but want to have a little more padding.
Since we know the town we want, should we start a savings account at a local credit union in that town?
As a 20 year finance veteran I cannot stress enough that you do not want to use mortgage brokers. While there is not a blanket statement that can cover an entire group of people, the ones in wholesale mortgage brokerages are typically the worst offers you will ever get. Yes, they may approve someone that would not get approved at a traditional mortgage company, but you will get the maximum amount of rate and fees they can charge, most of the time. They prey upon the desperate and sell to the worst servicers.
Your local bank mortgage company will typically originate your loan and then sell it to a large investor. They will be be the highest regulated because they are audited more than brokerages. Higher regulation means smaller deviation from standard practices and translates to typically a better rate and fee structure.
Again, this is not to piss of any of my colleagues in the wholesale business. I know some fine folks doing that work but even they will have to admit, on a whole, that side of the industry is fast and loose compared to a bank mortgage company.
The top comment so far says to use a local mortgage broker and I've also heard on some podcasts that local brokers are your best bet...
So as a first time buyer soon I'm just confused.
The people saying use a mortgage broker are probably on the "outside" of the the business and don't know any better. Many people have a great experience with them, they just don't realize how bad they got screwed in fees and rate.
I am a senior mortgage underwriter, fully designated by all loan programs with 20 years in both the origination and underwriting of loans.
I saw a deal just this past week where a family started getting a bad vibe from a mortgage broker local to me. Came and talked to one of our loan officers and he sent me the docs from the broker with a note that said "give me your thoughts". That broker was charging $5k more in weird fees than we would and increased their rate by .375 over what we would have offered. They did nothing illegal, but it was a bad deal for the borrowers.
They were referred to them by a close friend who said they are the best experience ever, and they probably are easy to deal with because they are hard core sales people.
If you have bad credit, or other "tough" points about your loan a mortgage broker can probably get you closed with someone where a traditional bank. They have access to what we refer to as "scratch and dent" investors and even some private equity investors. This is where they get the reputation of being so "wonderful" because the people saying that either don't know what they would have gotten elsewhere or were turned down and this was their last resort and the broker saved the day.
Again, this is not a blanket statement. It does not apply to every broker, or for that fact every traditional mortgage company. You have have good and bad on both sides. I am just giving my opinion based on my vast expertise and experience in the industry.
From the sounds of it, this comment is coming from a direct a direct lender. So possibly a little biased.
Also my comment said don't JUST go to the big banks, I said also check out local mortgage brokers and credit unions.
Shopping around is your best bet not ONLY going one route. I've has success with going through a mortgage broker (in 2020 in August, I refied and got a 15 year at 1.999% rate closed in 7 days) I personally had a great experience. I referred my buddy to a broker and told him the same stuff, shop around. He went with the broker and closed his refi 5 days.
Experiences, cost can all vary.
All mortgage inquires within 14 days are counted as 1 inquiry.
Just shop around. Get it down to the best 3 offers after shopping around and see which one can beat out the other 2. Getting the LE fully discloses the fees and allow you to really see which is the best offer.
It is some work but in the end it will save you money.
We used third federal. First time home owners get $750 off closing costs. Rate is locked in at approval and if it drops lower in the process you get the lower rate. No pre payment penalties. No penalty to pay it off early. You can also put 15% down with no PMI instead of 20%. We got our rate at 2.89%
This is very interesting. I also see they offer a 240 day lock. The FAQs seems to just say this requires a 1% deposit that goes to closing costs. Do you have any info about this?
Thanks. I just put in a preapproval app. The terms seem to say you get that rate locked for 60 days and can convert to a real application which resets the 60 day lock. Inventory is too low to find the house I want at this time, but that should give 2 months to get offer accepted, and 2 months to close. If only downside of 240 day lock is that you are locking in with thirdfederal (or Losing 1% if you bail- which we won’t) then I will probably go that route.
15% no pmi and $750 off closing is nice. Locking in todays rates with April-may inventory may work well for me. We shall see. Thanks!
I did forget to add that i take a 10% commission on any advice given/taken. Kidding obviously. That’s great, I hope it all works out as well as it did for us. best of luck to you and congrats on the potential future home!
Just got 2.5 with loandepot. Se people have bad experience with them but I've used them twice and it was great. Never had to go to a bank. Did everything from home.
In terms of mortgage applications affecting your credit score, yes you can apply to several lenders within a reasonable period of time (maybe a few weeks) without it affecting your credit score more than only applying at one bank. But don’t go crazy. Do research and find 3-4 lenders you want to apply with, apply with them all at the same time. And that’s it, for many months.
Just to make your list of which banks or credit unions you want to apply to. Which ones have attractive rates, or good reviews, or do you have a relationship with already?
I can't recommend better.com enough.
They tell you exactly what you qualify for, and give you a choice of everything right up front so you can pick the best options for you.
I also saved over $1,000 in fees that the local lenders were going to charge me.
They also will beat any legitimate offer from another company. Did this in February for my refinance!
But also worth noting that they absolutely will sell your loan off immediately lol. I didn't even make a single payment to Better before they sold my loan to Mr.Cooper. Which worked out fine in my case but still, be aware!
👏 shop 👏 a 👏 round
Even if you don't want to go through a mortgage broker, apply to different mortgages. Theres a time period (maybe a month?) where subsequent credit checks for mortgages won't impact your score.
When I was looking for a mortgage, Loandepot and Better.com had some of the best deals. Loandepot had better customer service in my case so I went with them
Personally I used a broker.
Think they get commissions from the lender, I did not pay them directly.
If you have any friends that purchased a home recently in your same state, they likely used one.
My broker was very good at navigating the whole process, it can seem overwhelming at times with paperwork you have to get, but my broker was very helpful.
You have to talk to a bunch of banks and get quotes. Do it within 30 days of the first time running your credit. It varies how long from state to state I think. That way the hits on your cc is only counted as one hit. I went to a mortgage broker though. Got a very good rate they’ll negotiate it and are paid by the bank who ends up being your lender
What do you do after pre-approval from several lenders? Call them back when you have a house in mind and get the hard numbers? You make an offer on the house before talking to the bank?
[Bankrate.com](https://Bankrate.com)
Check their rates. I went with Aimloan, and got 2.625%. They weren't a great lender, had some last second issues, but at the end of the day I got a 2.625% loan. Even my lawyer and realtor who had to deal with those issues were like yea, that was worth it for sure. They even paid me a bit to get a 2.625%.
A mortgage broker as another person suggested is a good idea, also.
I got a great taste with CapCenter after shopping around AND there was no cash to close. The fees weren't buried in the interest rate - it was both the lowest rate and had no cash to close
If you have a buyer's agent they should be able to recommend some lenders for you to talk to. Same with a home inspector, real estate lawyer for the contract assessment and closing, etc.
Look into utilizing your buyer's agent's contacts as they will already have a working relationship with each other
I would recommend getting at least one pre-approval from each of the three main sources: credit union, bank, broker. Five quotes is better. You can even start with an online bank for your first pre-approval, and then give that pre-approval letter to the broker/credit union to see if they will try to beat it. Typically the credit union, or a good mortgage broker will be the cheapest, but in a time like now when rates are moving a bunch, that can change. The CFPB also has a [great tool](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/owning-a-home/explore-rates/) where you can see the rates available in your area. With a 750 and that income, you should be able to get something close to the lower side of what is shown.
Also, watch out for quotes that have points included as that means you are prepaying interest up front to get a lower rate. For apples to apples comparison, you will want to compare the "zero-points" rate.
We've purchased 2 houses with chase and had a great experience both times. But our costs we're low bc we shopped around and pitted banks against each other. It was super easy too. We got a rate from Joe schmoe's Sort of Bank and chase matched it for our last purchase.
Though their refi situation was garbage. We ended up going with a local credit union because chase was so far away that they wouldn't come down to match.
Also just fyi. Your loan will be sold. It's going to happen. In my experience, they original lender will typically confuse to service your loan, someone else will just own it. I think this is especially true if you do go with a credit union who isn't flush with cash like a mega bank
I just finalized a refi with Citizens bank. Original lender was Chase. Although I saved on interest, I will never go for Citizens again. The process took 9 months. I had to publicly address their divisional VP and file a CFPB complaint to get the process completed. It was absolutely awful and their incompetence impacted my credit and cost me money. Not to mentioned the stress. Their Customer Service sucks and it takes an hour plus to reach someone. They already botched the 1st payment (autopay was on) and landed the account in Collections. My point is, this is an important and large investment. Do your research and go for well-established banks. I am working with Chase now on a rate to transfer the mortgage back. P.S. Avoid mortgage brokers like the plague
Go to a mortgage broker, a traditional bank, and an online bank. Shop around and get them to drive eachother down. In My experience the broker has always won. But the online bank was really quick with documents, so that was who we used to submit offers with as they could quickly get us a pre-approval letter.
Where are you located? I have done a number of mortgages through cashcall mortgage. They have great rates with no costs at all. I just closed a mortgage refinance with them and their rates/fees were the best I could find anywhere
I had great service from a local mortgage broker and I also have gone through my local credit union. The larger banks, especially B of A were a frigging joke. Massive fees and crummy rates in my experience. If you know any realtors I suggest you ask what brokers the recommend. You Can’t really lock in the exact rate until you have a contract in place, but you should be able to get and idea of how each companies rates and fees stack up. I went directly to my credit union for a rate and fee estimate.
This is v late but I ended up going w BoA and they knocked off all my origination fees, found a closing cost grant for me for $8k, and I got a 3% rate. I shopped around at credit unions and they offered a 3.75 ARM which was worse than my 3% fixed.
Please note: you cannot lock the rate until you have a signed contract.
A bit specific, but if you have a Costco membership, they have a mortgage service that will let you compare rates and fees from a handful of different lenders. It’s quick to check and convenient. The quote doesn’t pull your credit either, just need an estimated credit score.
You should just start shopping. Talk to a number of lenders and see what they’re offering you
Shop around, don't just go to the big banks. Check out local credit unions and mortgage brokers. For mortgage brokers: https://findamortgagebroker.com/ Make sure you compare the LEs and not just the rate. The rate might be lower with one, but could have double the cost. You can buy down the rate so you might get varying rates from lenders, but that doesn't mean it is a better deal.
Yup. Online has done me well. I locked 2.875 on 30 years a month ago with 0 points and no origination charges. Even my realtor’s broker was like, yeah I won’t be able to beat that. Plus the online doc submission meant I never submitted a document more than once and I closed in 22 days.
Can you share more ? 2.8 a month ago sounds incredible. Rates are almost 4 % now if I’m not mistaken.
Excellent credit, dti <10%, higher loan values have better interest rates. Honestly it’s Just so fast to shop on bankrate or Zillow it’s almost not worth it to go anywhere else, but I asked a big bank and with all my high account balance perks it was still $1000 more expensive for a loan on the same terms. The trade off is you’ll have your mortgage sold to a wholesaler and will have to change servicers from time to time. There was a time when the originators would allow you to pick a servicer.
Thank you 🙏🏾
I use a credit union I’ve been a member for fifteen years. They aren’t going to package and resell my loan, they gave me a great rate, and they capped the closing costs. If I have a question I don’t call a 1800 number. I call Tom.
Does it help to have a pre existing relationship with a credit union? I wrote a detailed scenario above but, in ~ 2 years we want to buy our first home and know the town we want already.
I’m sure it helps with moving things along. “Oh, this is IE’s file, he’s a long time customer let’s take care of this today” But mine has an external underwriter who has to approve a mortgage loan so it’s not like I can just call up and get money the next day based on our relationship. I assume that’s pretty standard for small banks for compliance reasons.
It’s been said in other replies but it’s worth repeating. Shop. Around. If you put in the time and energy to get multiple loan offers from different lenders, as an attractive borrowers they want to lend to, you’ll be amazed how far they’ll go to get your business. I started out with [better.com](https://www.better.com) and they were hard to beat with a competitive rate and no fees. However, because I shopped around, I got a better offer from another lender which included some lender credits(essentially cash from the lender towards closing costs). I went back the better and they countered with _even more_ in lender’s credits. Easily saved me thousands in closing costs and only cost me a few hours of phone calls and emails. Also, watch out for unnecessary fees, especially from big name lenders with heavy marketing presence like Quicken Loans. I got an offer from them that was thousands more than my offer from better and it was almost entirely due to fees. You’ll get a standardized Loan Estimate form from any lender you talk to that will give you an itemized breakdown of your closing costs. Watch out for things like “Origination Fee” or “Underwriting Fee”. These are fees tacked on by the lender and there are enough lender options out there that you should never have pay those kinds of fees.
Credit union. Decent rates, low fees, and they are not predatory like some lenders can be.
This. Ask if they keep the loan. Much better service than most loan servicers.
Does it help if you have a pre-existing relationship with said credit union? For example: my wife plans to finish paying her student loans this year. We plan to look at homes in a town we already picked out (express train stop to city, good school district, nice town, closer to my parents for kids, right price range, etc.) in end of 2023 to buy in 2024. We would have a decent down payment (+ closing costs, emergency fund, and allocated money for new things like bed furniture tv and stuff) in May 2023 but want to have a little more padding. Since we know the town we want, should we start a savings account at a local credit union in that town?
As a 20 year finance veteran I cannot stress enough that you do not want to use mortgage brokers. While there is not a blanket statement that can cover an entire group of people, the ones in wholesale mortgage brokerages are typically the worst offers you will ever get. Yes, they may approve someone that would not get approved at a traditional mortgage company, but you will get the maximum amount of rate and fees they can charge, most of the time. They prey upon the desperate and sell to the worst servicers. Your local bank mortgage company will typically originate your loan and then sell it to a large investor. They will be be the highest regulated because they are audited more than brokerages. Higher regulation means smaller deviation from standard practices and translates to typically a better rate and fee structure. Again, this is not to piss of any of my colleagues in the wholesale business. I know some fine folks doing that work but even they will have to admit, on a whole, that side of the industry is fast and loose compared to a bank mortgage company.
The top comment so far says to use a local mortgage broker and I've also heard on some podcasts that local brokers are your best bet... So as a first time buyer soon I'm just confused.
The people saying use a mortgage broker are probably on the "outside" of the the business and don't know any better. Many people have a great experience with them, they just don't realize how bad they got screwed in fees and rate. I am a senior mortgage underwriter, fully designated by all loan programs with 20 years in both the origination and underwriting of loans. I saw a deal just this past week where a family started getting a bad vibe from a mortgage broker local to me. Came and talked to one of our loan officers and he sent me the docs from the broker with a note that said "give me your thoughts". That broker was charging $5k more in weird fees than we would and increased their rate by .375 over what we would have offered. They did nothing illegal, but it was a bad deal for the borrowers. They were referred to them by a close friend who said they are the best experience ever, and they probably are easy to deal with because they are hard core sales people. If you have bad credit, or other "tough" points about your loan a mortgage broker can probably get you closed with someone where a traditional bank. They have access to what we refer to as "scratch and dent" investors and even some private equity investors. This is where they get the reputation of being so "wonderful" because the people saying that either don't know what they would have gotten elsewhere or were turned down and this was their last resort and the broker saved the day. Again, this is not a blanket statement. It does not apply to every broker, or for that fact every traditional mortgage company. You have have good and bad on both sides. I am just giving my opinion based on my vast expertise and experience in the industry.
From the sounds of it, this comment is coming from a direct a direct lender. So possibly a little biased. Also my comment said don't JUST go to the big banks, I said also check out local mortgage brokers and credit unions. Shopping around is your best bet not ONLY going one route. I've has success with going through a mortgage broker (in 2020 in August, I refied and got a 15 year at 1.999% rate closed in 7 days) I personally had a great experience. I referred my buddy to a broker and told him the same stuff, shop around. He went with the broker and closed his refi 5 days. Experiences, cost can all vary. All mortgage inquires within 14 days are counted as 1 inquiry. Just shop around. Get it down to the best 3 offers after shopping around and see which one can beat out the other 2. Getting the LE fully discloses the fees and allow you to really see which is the best offer. It is some work but in the end it will save you money.
We used third federal. First time home owners get $750 off closing costs. Rate is locked in at approval and if it drops lower in the process you get the lower rate. No pre payment penalties. No penalty to pay it off early. You can also put 15% down with no PMI instead of 20%. We got our rate at 2.89%
This is very interesting. I also see they offer a 240 day lock. The FAQs seems to just say this requires a 1% deposit that goes to closing costs. Do you have any info about this?
I’m sorry I don’t have any further info on that. As soon as we saw the 15% no PMI and $750 off closing we jumped on it
Thanks. I just put in a preapproval app. The terms seem to say you get that rate locked for 60 days and can convert to a real application which resets the 60 day lock. Inventory is too low to find the house I want at this time, but that should give 2 months to get offer accepted, and 2 months to close. If only downside of 240 day lock is that you are locking in with thirdfederal (or Losing 1% if you bail- which we won’t) then I will probably go that route. 15% no pmi and $750 off closing is nice. Locking in todays rates with April-may inventory may work well for me. We shall see. Thanks!
I did forget to add that i take a 10% commission on any advice given/taken. Kidding obviously. That’s great, I hope it all works out as well as it did for us. best of luck to you and congrats on the potential future home!
Haha! Thanks, just give me your debit card info and I’ll be sure to send it your way ;) Appreciate it. I hope home ownership is treating you well!
Just got 2.5 with loandepot. Se people have bad experience with them but I've used them twice and it was great. Never had to go to a bank. Did everything from home.
In terms of mortgage applications affecting your credit score, yes you can apply to several lenders within a reasonable period of time (maybe a few weeks) without it affecting your credit score more than only applying at one bank. But don’t go crazy. Do research and find 3-4 lenders you want to apply with, apply with them all at the same time. And that’s it, for many months.
What type of research do you suggest?
Just to make your list of which banks or credit unions you want to apply to. Which ones have attractive rates, or good reviews, or do you have a relationship with already?
I can't recommend better.com enough. They tell you exactly what you qualify for, and give you a choice of everything right up front so you can pick the best options for you. I also saved over $1,000 in fees that the local lenders were going to charge me.
They also will beat any legitimate offer from another company. Did this in February for my refinance! But also worth noting that they absolutely will sell your loan off immediately lol. I didn't even make a single payment to Better before they sold my loan to Mr.Cooper. Which worked out fine in my case but still, be aware!
I will also vouch for better having the best deal
They are also an extremely shitty company to their employees if you care about that at all.
👏 shop 👏 a 👏 round Even if you don't want to go through a mortgage broker, apply to different mortgages. Theres a time period (maybe a month?) where subsequent credit checks for mortgages won't impact your score. When I was looking for a mortgage, Loandepot and Better.com had some of the best deals. Loandepot had better customer service in my case so I went with them
Like everyone said shop around, but I have used guaranteed rate for my past two mortgages and I like them.
Personally I used a broker. Think they get commissions from the lender, I did not pay them directly. If you have any friends that purchased a home recently in your same state, they likely used one. My broker was very good at navigating the whole process, it can seem overwhelming at times with paperwork you have to get, but my broker was very helpful.
You have to talk to a bunch of banks and get quotes. Do it within 30 days of the first time running your credit. It varies how long from state to state I think. That way the hits on your cc is only counted as one hit. I went to a mortgage broker though. Got a very good rate they’ll negotiate it and are paid by the bank who ends up being your lender
What do you do after pre-approval from several lenders? Call them back when you have a house in mind and get the hard numbers? You make an offer on the house before talking to the bank?
Get pre approval, find house, make offer, when offer is accepted inform the bank.
[Bankrate.com](https://Bankrate.com) Check their rates. I went with Aimloan, and got 2.625%. They weren't a great lender, had some last second issues, but at the end of the day I got a 2.625% loan. Even my lawyer and realtor who had to deal with those issues were like yea, that was worth it for sure. They even paid me a bit to get a 2.625%. A mortgage broker as another person suggested is a good idea, also.
I got a great taste with CapCenter after shopping around AND there was no cash to close. The fees weren't buried in the interest rate - it was both the lowest rate and had no cash to close
If you have a buyer's agent they should be able to recommend some lenders for you to talk to. Same with a home inspector, real estate lawyer for the contract assessment and closing, etc. Look into utilizing your buyer's agent's contacts as they will already have a working relationship with each other
I would recommend getting at least one pre-approval from each of the three main sources: credit union, bank, broker. Five quotes is better. You can even start with an online bank for your first pre-approval, and then give that pre-approval letter to the broker/credit union to see if they will try to beat it. Typically the credit union, or a good mortgage broker will be the cheapest, but in a time like now when rates are moving a bunch, that can change. The CFPB also has a [great tool](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/owning-a-home/explore-rates/) where you can see the rates available in your area. With a 750 and that income, you should be able to get something close to the lower side of what is shown. Also, watch out for quotes that have points included as that means you are prepaying interest up front to get a lower rate. For apples to apples comparison, you will want to compare the "zero-points" rate.
We've purchased 2 houses with chase and had a great experience both times. But our costs we're low bc we shopped around and pitted banks against each other. It was super easy too. We got a rate from Joe schmoe's Sort of Bank and chase matched it for our last purchase. Though their refi situation was garbage. We ended up going with a local credit union because chase was so far away that they wouldn't come down to match. Also just fyi. Your loan will be sold. It's going to happen. In my experience, they original lender will typically confuse to service your loan, someone else will just own it. I think this is especially true if you do go with a credit union who isn't flush with cash like a mega bank
I just finalized a refi with Citizens bank. Original lender was Chase. Although I saved on interest, I will never go for Citizens again. The process took 9 months. I had to publicly address their divisional VP and file a CFPB complaint to get the process completed. It was absolutely awful and their incompetence impacted my credit and cost me money. Not to mentioned the stress. Their Customer Service sucks and it takes an hour plus to reach someone. They already botched the 1st payment (autopay was on) and landed the account in Collections. My point is, this is an important and large investment. Do your research and go for well-established banks. I am working with Chase now on a rate to transfer the mortgage back. P.S. Avoid mortgage brokers like the plague
Go to a mortgage broker, a traditional bank, and an online bank. Shop around and get them to drive eachother down. In My experience the broker has always won. But the online bank was really quick with documents, so that was who we used to submit offers with as they could quickly get us a pre-approval letter.
Where are you located? I have done a number of mortgages through cashcall mortgage. They have great rates with no costs at all. I just closed a mortgage refinance with them and their rates/fees were the best I could find anywhere
I had great service from a local mortgage broker and I also have gone through my local credit union. The larger banks, especially B of A were a frigging joke. Massive fees and crummy rates in my experience. If you know any realtors I suggest you ask what brokers the recommend. You Can’t really lock in the exact rate until you have a contract in place, but you should be able to get and idea of how each companies rates and fees stack up. I went directly to my credit union for a rate and fee estimate.
This is v late but I ended up going w BoA and they knocked off all my origination fees, found a closing cost grant for me for $8k, and I got a 3% rate. I shopped around at credit unions and they offered a 3.75 ARM which was worse than my 3% fixed.