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If it's time to find a mortgage professional that cares about your needs and financial outlook, use BeatMyBroker.com. We have a network of dedicated mortgage brokers and loan officers that are ready to give you a customized mortgage quote with the lowest interest rates and fees available.
Find Your Lender
There are 5 steps every mortgage shopper should follow when trying to secure a new home loan. BeatMyBroker.com’s simple Mortgage Shopping School will help you stay ahead of the home financing curve.
Step 1: Choosing a lender
There are three basic places where mortgages are offered. These places are banks, mortgage brokerages, and credit unions. If you absolutely must use your bank or credit union because you “know” them, you’ll more than likely end up with a higher interest rate and possibly even higher fees. Mortgage brokers have much more flexibility with interest rates and fees and make their living beating offers from the banks and credit unions. If you feel more comfortable taking an application for a mortgage with the bank, at the very least you should compare the bank’s offer with that of a mortgage broker.
Step 2: Choosing the right loan
Choosing the right type of mortgage could save you money. Choosing the wrong type of mortgage could cost you money and possibly force you to refinance when you are not ready. If you are going to be living in a home for a shorter period of time, always compare the interest of an adjustable rate mortgage to a fixed rate mortgage. Adjustable rate mortgages can have fixed interest rates for shorter periods of time typically up to 7 years. If you are only going to stay in your home for 5 years, a 5 year ARM that has a lower interest rate than a 30 year fixed mortgage might be the better loan for you. Now, if you are going to stay in your home for the entire 30 years, and do not see yourself needing to refinance for any reason in the future, you should probably look past an adjustable rate mortgage. If you intend to stay in your home after the fixed period on the ARM expires, you might find yourself in a situation where you need to refinance because your interest rate has increased. This will cost you time and money trying to find a new, fixed interest rate mortgage.
Step 3: Accepting a fair interest rate and fees
Once you have chosen the right type of loan, you will receive a good faith estimate of fees that are likely to be incurred in the loan transaction. You will also be quoted an interest rate on your new loan. You could take a few applications with different mortgage companies and see who has the best offer, but that doesn’t always ensure you are getting the mortgage you deserve and qualify for. Each one of those lenders could be offering you higher interest rates and fees you might not have to pay if you just talk to one or two more mortgage companies. This type of mortgage shopping can be tiresome but some think it is the only way to get a great mortgage. Read our articles on getting the best interest rate and paying the lowest fees for more information.
Mortgage companies that have committed to BeatMyBroker.com’s Ethical Mortgage Loan Commitment must offer you the lowest rate and fees the first time you speak with them. We have developed our ethical guidelines with the consumer in mind and our main goal is to give borrowers the best shot at the best mortgage with the least amount of effort on the borrower’s behalf.
Step 4: Being a good borrower
You should always supply your loan officer with the documentation they request for your loan approval as quickly as possible. Your interest rate depends on it. All mortgages have a time period where you are guaranteed a certain interest rate. This rate lock period has an expiration date and if you do not close on your loan before that rate lock expires, you will either end up with a higher interest rate, or have to pay an additional fee to extend your interest rate lock.
The better you are at promptly supplying your lender with the documentation they request, the smoother your loan experience will be. It’s also important to provide complete documentation to your mortgage company when they request it. If they ask for 2 months worth of bank statements, make sure to supply all pages from those statements and not just the first page that has the balance.
Step 5: Closing your loan
This is the most important step in the mortgage shopping process because this is really where your make the “big purchase.” You are committing to a new loan when you sign your loan documents so you want to make sure everything in the paperwork is what you expected to see. You will want to double check the following items before you sign your paperwork:
If you verify the items above, you can feel confident you are getting the loan you applied for.
Could you improve your
interest rate?
We show you 5 steps to help you get the mortgage you deserve. BeatMyBroker.com mortgage experts believe these tactics are some of the most important skills a borrower needs when searching for a mortgage.
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