3 Tips for Finding the Perfect Mortgage Lender
It may seem easy on the surface to find a mortgage lender, but the process of getting a loan is complicated to say the least. Not to mention that there will be many potential lenders who really don’t fit your criteria.
When searching for a lender, you can take the hard route and go to their individual websites and request further information. Or you can take the easy route and use a site like On Q Financial and fill out only one form to get multiple quotes from various lenders. The decision on which route to opt for is up to you, just as long as you fulfill your goal of finding the best lender that will meet your needs.
With that said, we’ll provide some tips to help you find the perfect mortgage lender for your particular situation. Please use these tips to your advantage when you begin applying for mortgages from now on.
Tip #1: Figure out Your Complete Financial Picture
Before you even begin looking for potential lenders, it’s best to get yourself organized right from the very beginning. There are specific criteria that everyone needs to know before they even consider applying for a mortgage.
For starters, you must know how much money you have on hand before applying for the loan. You need to know how much you’ll have available for a down payment on the home you wish to buy. After you’ve determined this number, you’ll then be able to estimate how much money you’ll need to borrow from potential lenders.
At this point in time, lenders are typically looking for homebuyers to put down 20% of the total home value, so you must have that much cash available on hand in order to qualify for the loan. Plus you need to have money for other expenses like lawyer fees, moving expenses, first-year property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, and anything else that may come up.
Based on everything we’ve just shared, do the math to figure out your personal needs and calculate how much you’ll need to borrow for your mortgage.
Tip #2: Researching Potential Lenders
When you begin the research process, you can contact people you know to see if they can make a solid recommendation. More than likely, you’ll end up finding someone on your own based on information you gather online.
If you do not feel like getting tons of emails from multiple lenders, you’re short on time or you want to put your attention on planning what remodeling you’re going to do after you receive the loan, it’s best to use the source we mentioned above and get various quotes from different vendors by only filling in one form.
Alternatively, visit the individual websites of lenders you know and choose those you feel are a good fit. Contact your local bank, credit union, or other local banks in your community and see if you’ll qualify for a mortgage.
Tip #3: Narrow down Your Choices
Now that you’ve discovered possible lenders for your mortgage, it’s time to narrow down your options and choose the best companies to meet your needs. You want to choose the one that will be the best to work with. So consider the following:
- Were your emails and phone calls promptly returned?
- Was the lender friendly?
- Were they patient or did they rush through your phone call?
- Did the lender thoroughly answer all of your questions?
- Did the lender dig deeper and ask about the particulars of your loan?
- And Did the lender seem honest and forthright?
If you can answer a resounding yes to all those questions, then choose that lender. Put in applications to at least three different lenders and you’re bound to qualify for a mortgage from at least one of them.