How to pick a mortgage company / loan officer continued

So you've made your phone calls and you've done your math with the help of the lenders contacted. You've compared the APR's from each and you now have the elusive answer to a very important question. "How much is this going to cost me?"

You're ready to call the lender with the lowest APR and start the loan application process. Right? Hold on for just a little more research. Remember reputation is a very important commodity in the mortgage market. Does your lender have what it takes to get your loan application successfully closed? The best APR won't help if you have an incompetent mortgage company and/or loan officer.

Your sales contract has a specific closing date in it. What happens if you miss it do to slip ups on the lender side? You'll have to go back to the seller and ask for an extension which may or may not be granted. If the seller refuses an extension or demands compensation to extend, your lowest APR just got a lot more expensive. Worse still, what happens if your loan application is denied after an extended period of processing. By than, you've spent your option fee, had your mechanical inspections, and the appraisal completed. These are out of pocket expenses that can't be recovered and can run into the hundreds of dollars. How accessible is you loan officer and processing team? A rule of thumb would be "the larger the lender the less accessible your loan team becomes". The largest banks in the U.S. all have mortgage subsidiaries. In most cases, your loan application is being processed at a central processing center which quite often will be hundreds of miles from where you are. Does your loan officer stay involved or drop it on a processing desk and hope for the best? So many questions, where do you begin?

Ask your realtor if they have a loan officer to recommend. Perhaps your family and friends have gone through the process recently and can provide a recommendation. Above all, do your research and ask those questions. What questions should you ask? A little education on your part will go a long way. The internet provides a terrific tool for reaseach. Use it and, when a question comes up, jot it down and ask the lenders for an answer. Your loan officer should be eager to help and possess the experience to provide reliable information. If they can't be bothered or seem to lack the details, that low APR you got may lead you to a poor decision. After all, purchasing a home is the largest single investment most of us will ever make. Don't be intimidated by the process. Start your rearch now. MortgageGuidelines