Did you go to a mortage company? An construction/lender company?

Well this is the field that I have spent many years in, mortgage lending. I realize this post is old and not sure if your still looking for information or not. First I would ask are you looking to purchase a new home or a resale home? The reason I ask is that many new home builders give large incentives to go through their lender. This can be quite helpful as the builder and the lender work closely together in getting your loan closed in a timely fashion. Personally I stay away from brokers for several reasons. First reason is that the broker even if rates go down won't quote you a lower rate in most cases as they receive a far higher amount on the backside of the loan in addition to any points and fees they are charging you on the front. At least that has been my experience and I have worked for both brokers and direct lenders. I have also worked on the lending side for the builder and have found it so much better than working on the other side and trying to close a loan when you don't get the cooperation you need. It's also important to know what type of home your purchasing to tell you what not to do while in the loan process. Don't go out and purchase new appliances and furniture while you in the middle of getting your loan. Don't purchase a car. Make sure that all bills are being paid prior to the date. Don't go out and pay everything off either. This can have a drastic affect on your FICO scores which determine the loan that you qualify for. The higher the FICO score the better the loan and the more available loans that you can choose from. So where I would start would be with your bank for a loan. Don't shop to much as anyone pulling your credit can also have negative affects on your FICO. (To many inquiries is a bad thing) Ask if their are upfront fees that are non refundable. Application fees and what does the money go towards. Many places will take an application fee but when the loan closes they apply it towards the credit and appraisal fees. Get a GFE (Good Faith Estimate) see if their are fees that look to high. A lot of companies won't show third party fees while it's legal it's quite misleading. When you get to closing and your looking at the GFE that you were given originally and the final amount your asked to bring can be a HUGE difference. I personally find them to be dishonest Lenders. Hope this helps some. It's quite a stressful process and I wish you the best of luck. :)

The first thing you should always do is pull your FICO scores. That's number one. You should always know your score before talking to a lender so you have more negotiating power and you know where you stand. Be ready to have paperwork there like you W2s, tax return info, paystubs and bank statements. A lender or broker can tell you how much house you can afford. Usually they look at two main things: your income and your debt. These two combos will determine how much house you can afford. Next, a lender will tell you what loan program will work best for your situation, and what rate you can qualify for. Then, if you like the rate ask them to LOCK in it if possible. Most will do that for at least 30 days, some up to 90. Then find a realtor, start looking, and when you find a place you like, write the contract.. I am by no means an expert, but this is just general advice on how to start, Good luck! :)

We went through a local mortgage company or lender... then they sold our mortgage to a company in another state some ways away [but that was ok, and happened two or threee times]... Your bank is likely an option too, and you can compare interest rates, and "points" which is an upfront amount, often included in the loan... You can even apply online, to places like "Ditech.com". Go for a "fixed" interest rate! That way it does not rise (like a variable rate can) but stays at the rate you signed up for. Our original mortgage was at 9.5% interst rate, then a couple or so years ago when the rates dropped down, we refinanced, and got a new rate at 6.5% Which also lowered our payments. To refinance I called around.. to banks with a mortgage dept. and to mortgage companies listed in the phone books. But we ended up just going through the company we were already with, which is "Countrywide Home Loans" and they likely have a website too. Even if you didn't want to apply online, a company's phone number can be found there. If your credit is good or even ok, you should have no trouble and it's well worth it, rather than burning the money each month in renting... Tho then you are responsible for the upkeep :)) Also, each month when you send in your mortgage payment, send in an additional amount of principal, as it's a small amount, especially early on in the mortgage, and by doing this you can cut your mortgage years as much as half! Taking off all that interest for each month's additional principal sent - if paid on time, that is. Following our mortgage 30 year plan, we will/would pay three times what we paid for the house! But, then again, our mortgage is less than any available rentals.. and we have equity; something to show for our money. And by sending the extra principal I'm hoping the mortgage will be paid off in 15 to 20 years, rather than the 20. [Companies always want ya to put your credit card bills on a home equity loan, but know what, if worse comes to worse, a credit company cannot take your home.. but a home equity loan can.) Good Luck!