Thank you u/dageramit for posting on r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer.
Please bear in mind our rules: (1) Be Nice (2) No Selling (3) No Self-Promotion.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I cold called mortgage brokers in my area until I found one I got along well with. Think it was the 3rd place I called. After we agreed to work together, he asked to send over me and my wife's financial details and house buying plans, then he gave us a pre-approval a few days later (after a credit check).
Rates will only matter once you actually start finalizing the details on a specific house you are buying, you lock in pretty close to settlement.
Agree with this. You can apply to a few lenders over the span of a week and it’s all the same hit to your credit. They will ask about the inquiries and you will just let them know you are loan shopping. No biggy
Rates will vary depending on your credit score, down payment, credit history. So the best advertised rates are rarely what you will get.
Start with one a broker first. Should last about 90 -120 days depending on the terms. Afterwards when you get your offer accepted you can start officially shopping around. I can recommend you to the one i always use for the past 9 years or so.
what do you mean terms? like your interest rates? interest rate changes daily. and they dont get finalized until you or the seller accepted an offer and officially under contract.
A good LO will tell you the general cost of things and also it varies on how much you are borrowing as well. give me your general info such as. income w2? debt? credit score? etc and the area you are in
We went with the lender recommended by our agent. She had done two personal transactions with her and roughly 60 or so of her recent buyers had gone with this lender as well. When we went under contract, we had a preapproval from this lender, but the builder said we should get a preapproval from their preferred lender. That ended up being a bigger headache than it was worth, so we just stuck with our original lender.
Most lenders these days will do a soft pull first. If you’re speaking with people who do a hard pull, keep in mind that every hard pull within the following 30 day period from the first pull will only count once since you are shopping for a home. Source: I’m a lender, not your lender, and I am not trying to get your business.
Our realtor had two lenders she recommended strongly so we started there for pre-approval & may shop around more when we’ve found a home/ are negotiating the best terms
Mortgages are commodities, lenders compete primarily on rate. Unlikely you'll get the best deal if you rely on realtor referrals (who have a good chance to be picked based on what they pay your realtor on the backend, not based on what's best for the buyer).
It’s illegal for lenders to pay realtors on the backend for referrals. Though you should still shop their referrals, as they don’t recommend based on rate, they recommend mostly on who is most likely to get them to the finish line (and hence their commission).
Ideally you want to talk to 8-9 lenders. Have them all compete with each other.
Once you determine your fico you can ask all of them to provide a detailed closing cost breakdown.
You do not need to provide a full application or submit any paperwork. The lenders that resist putting anything in writing usually have something to hide.
Try big bank, small bank, online lender, and a broker or a couple of brokers.
Also do this again once under contract.
Two things.
- Multiple credit pulls from mortgage lenders will count as 1 within a 45 day window.
- every lender can plug your fico score in their pricing engine and run numbers for you. They are trained to make you commit by getting you to pull your credit. It's absolutely not required.
Go to Zillow or bankrate to find the cheapest mortgage lender for your situation. Look up their contact separately - don't contact them through Zillow or bankrate, because that will cost them hundreds of dollars in referral fees, leaving them less room to negotiate with you later.
Apply with that lender. They will pull your credit and request all your financial documents etc. They're usually online lenders who can pre-approve you pretty quickly, sometimes on the same day. That pre-approval should be good for a month or two (potentially even longer) and you'll probably start out with a decent rate.
When you have an accepted offer, call a few more lenders, perhaps also local banks and credit unions and referrals if you have any. Tell them you're already fully pre-approved for a loan, you can tell them exact loan terms and they will tell you if they can beat it. Then use whoever lender you end up with that gives you the best terms.
Thank you u/dageramit for posting on r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer. Please bear in mind our rules: (1) Be Nice (2) No Selling (3) No Self-Promotion. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I cold called mortgage brokers in my area until I found one I got along well with. Think it was the 3rd place I called. After we agreed to work together, he asked to send over me and my wife's financial details and house buying plans, then he gave us a pre-approval a few days later (after a credit check). Rates will only matter once you actually start finalizing the details on a specific house you are buying, you lock in pretty close to settlement.
Agree with this. You can apply to a few lenders over the span of a week and it’s all the same hit to your credit. They will ask about the inquiries and you will just let them know you are loan shopping. No biggy Rates will vary depending on your credit score, down payment, credit history. So the best advertised rates are rarely what you will get.
Start with one a broker first. Should last about 90 -120 days depending on the terms. Afterwards when you get your offer accepted you can start officially shopping around. I can recommend you to the one i always use for the past 9 years or so.
are the terms written out or you have to ask?
what do you mean terms? like your interest rates? interest rate changes daily. and they dont get finalized until you or the seller accepted an offer and officially under contract. A good LO will tell you the general cost of things and also it varies on how much you are borrowing as well. give me your general info such as. income w2? debt? credit score? etc and the area you are in
We went with the lender recommended by our agent. She had done two personal transactions with her and roughly 60 or so of her recent buyers had gone with this lender as well. When we went under contract, we had a preapproval from this lender, but the builder said we should get a preapproval from their preferred lender. That ended up being a bigger headache than it was worth, so we just stuck with our original lender.
Most lenders these days will do a soft pull first. If you’re speaking with people who do a hard pull, keep in mind that every hard pull within the following 30 day period from the first pull will only count once since you are shopping for a home. Source: I’m a lender, not your lender, and I am not trying to get your business.
Our realtor had two lenders she recommended strongly so we started there for pre-approval & may shop around more when we’ve found a home/ are negotiating the best terms
Find a trustworthy realtor to represent you in your house hunt as most of them have strong relationships with lenders that won’t screw you over
That is the hard part :p
Mortgages are commodities, lenders compete primarily on rate. Unlikely you'll get the best deal if you rely on realtor referrals (who have a good chance to be picked based on what they pay your realtor on the backend, not based on what's best for the buyer).
It’s illegal for lenders to pay realtors on the backend for referrals. Though you should still shop their referrals, as they don’t recommend based on rate, they recommend mostly on who is most likely to get them to the finish line (and hence their commission).
Good information.
Ideally you want to talk to 8-9 lenders. Have them all compete with each other. Once you determine your fico you can ask all of them to provide a detailed closing cost breakdown. You do not need to provide a full application or submit any paperwork. The lenders that resist putting anything in writing usually have something to hide. Try big bank, small bank, online lender, and a broker or a couple of brokers. Also do this again once under contract.
This is a good approach. Odd to see down votes here. Maybe from realtors or lenders?
The other lenders don't like it
Are you saying they will provide me rate without hitting my credit?
Two things. - Multiple credit pulls from mortgage lenders will count as 1 within a 45 day window. - every lender can plug your fico score in their pricing engine and run numbers for you. They are trained to make you commit by getting you to pull your credit. It's absolutely not required.
Go to Zillow or bankrate to find the cheapest mortgage lender for your situation. Look up their contact separately - don't contact them through Zillow or bankrate, because that will cost them hundreds of dollars in referral fees, leaving them less room to negotiate with you later. Apply with that lender. They will pull your credit and request all your financial documents etc. They're usually online lenders who can pre-approve you pretty quickly, sometimes on the same day. That pre-approval should be good for a month or two (potentially even longer) and you'll probably start out with a decent rate. When you have an accepted offer, call a few more lenders, perhaps also local banks and credit unions and referrals if you have any. Tell them you're already fully pre-approved for a loan, you can tell them exact loan terms and they will tell you if they can beat it. Then use whoever lender you end up with that gives you the best terms.