Can I get you the best mortgage interest rate available today? Are my fees lower than anyone else making real estate loans? Do I have every mortgage program available in the market place? Do you want to do business with me? Why?

When shopping for a mortgage, it is very easy to make your decision based upon the lowest interest rate you locate over the phone or on the internet.  However, consider the ramifications of getting involved with a lender that is not knowledgeable, creditable, or available. Calling around and asking: “What’s your 30 year rate?” is really not an effective way to shop. Why? Because someone can quote any interest rate that they want to you on the phone or on the internet but it isn’t what you may actually get. Did you consider that interest rates vary due to credit score, loan to value, purpose of the loan, and loan program? Did you know that rates often change during the day, sometimes more than once? If you ask me what the interest rate is, I have to answer that I don’t know and so should anyone else you ask that question to until they know your specifics. And, if you ask me the day after you asked someone else, how do you know you are comparing apples to apples and not to tangerines?

There are people out there that are trained to get you to bite on their remarkably low rates, bring you in hook, line and sinker. Then they get your non-refundable deposit without furnishing a good faith estimate or discussing locking in your rate. Then, suddenly, at closing, the rate or fees or both are higher than you expected.  In the industry, this is called Bait and Switch.  This is the extreme, but is not much worse than someone telling you the interest rate is 4.5%* but forgetting to tell you that it costs 3 points to get there. (*Used for example only, not a rate quote.)

Now consider an alternative approach to shopping for a mortgage….    

I would like to suggest that you shop for your lender based on more than just who says they have the lowest rate or fee. Both are very important, but it is also important to deliver what is promised in the time frame that it is promised. There are a lot of lenders taking over 2 months to close conventional loan transactions with no special circumstances. Most often we are able to close normal conventional and FHA loans in less than 30 days. It does take longer to close USDA, VA, FHA 203k and FHA and conventional manufactured home loans. So, sometimes you need to ask what the time frame is for these loans. It is not one size fits all anymore.

Take the time to schedule an appointment with a professional mortgage lender that:

1. Returns your phone calls.
2. Is credit knowledgeable and can help improve your credit scores. (This may take time.)
3. Understands the basis of mortgage rate pricing. (Mortgage rates are not based on the prime rate or the Treasury bill.)
4. Has multiple loan options, conventional, FHA, VA, USDA.
5. Always provides you a written cost estimate of fees (GFE).
6. Closes on time at the price quoted. 

Knowledge opens doors. This is literally true when it comes to buying a home. The following questions and answers will give you basic knowledge and the tools necessary to navigate the entire home buying process – from deciding whether you’re ready to buy, all the way to getting the keys to your new home!

Are you ready to buy a home?

Questions you should ask yourself:

• Do I have a steady, reliable source of verifiable income?
• Have I been employed on a regular basis for the last 12 months?
• Do I have a good record of paying my bills?
• Do I have manageable long-term debts, like car payments?
• Do I have money for a down payment?
• Do I have the ability to pay a mortgage, and other living costs, every month?

If you can answer “yes” to these questions, you are probably ready to buy your own home. We have some latitude on a couple of these items. For instance, if you are recently back to work or starting work after schooling, the 12 months on the job can be much shorter. If you have had some difficulty with credit in the past, but has corrected past problems, there may be a loan for you. If you don’t pay your bills on time, don’t have any down payment and can’t afford the mortgage payment, guess what? There is no loan program for you.

The easiest way to explain what we are looking for now in an acceptable mortgage loan application can be summed up with the 3Cs for mortgage lending, Credit, Capacity and Collateral. This is “old school” in relation to the way things were done recently, but “everything that was old, is new again.” The way to find out “if” you can buy a home is to talk to a mortgage professional like me. Let’s sit down and discuss what you want to do. I may tell you “not now,” but I will always try to give you directions on how to get to the “now” position. You can reach me at 541-342-7576 or e-mail at fchamberlin@alpinemc.com.