The Right Mortgage Loan for you

Published by joel | Filed under Buyer / Seller Tips, Miscellaneous, Real Estate

Mortgage loans can be a little intimidating to someone who’s never dealt with them, or only dealt with them a few time. All that paperwork, all that time, all that money that you have to repay. It can be stressful and worrisome, to say the least. But it doesn’t have to be if you know a little about what you’re doing and what you’re looking for.

To start out, when you’re looking for a mortgage loan, you should try to have some idea of what you’re planning to purchase. Obviously it’s a house, land, condo, or something along the line of Real Estate. However, think about what it is you’re wanting, what kind of price range it might be in, and get a good realistic idea of how much you’re going to want to borrow. If you make $25,000 a year, and you want a mansion on the beach with a swimming pool and a tennis court, you need to rethink your logic. I make a point of saying be realistic because many people aren’t anywhere close when they think of how much home they can get for their money. Set your sites in a target range that you can reasonably afford.

The second thing to do is stop by the bank. Actually, stop by three or four. Look at their mortgage rate display, or ask what the mortgage loan rates are. Don’t get drawn into conversation, just get the information and get out. Compare notes from the different banks, and you’ll see they’re all pretty close.

Now, go find a credit union. Yes, banks and credit unions are very different. That’s a story for another time, just trust me and go to a credit union. Or better yet, go to three. Compare their mortgage loan rates, and then compare them all to the banks rates. You should be seeing the credit union rates are lower.

Ok, last stop. I know gas is expensive, and you’ve used half a tank already, but trust me, you want to make this stop. Find the nearest mortgage broker. If you don’t know where one is, stop by a real estate office. Most of them can point you towards at least 5, and many have one who works right in their office. Once you find this broker, tell them you want to get pre-approved for a mortgage loan (or you’re looking for a second mortgage, if that’s the case) and show them the rates you’ve found at the local banks. After they get done laughing, they’ll tell you they can beat that. And they can. 95% of the time, they’ll beat that rate by at least ½% because they know where to look, and they know all the programs out there that you might qualify for. If they have more than a couple years experience, it’s because they are very, very good at their job. Otherwise, they’d be out of business within two years.

That’s about it. When you’re looking for a mortgage loan, a mortgage broker will get you the best rate, with less hassle than anyone else out there can.

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