When thinking about buying a house, you need to find a good mortgage company. However, to ensure you find the best mortgage company, you need to look for specific things to include service, rates, and reliability. Then for each of these areas, you would rate them on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best. Unfortunately, many first time homebuyers will go to just any mortgage company but find they get less than perfect service.
Keep in mind that one of the toughest and most important decisions you will make in the home buying process is finding the mortgage company. This requires time investigating prospective lenders so you make the best decision. For starters, you should try to use a lender that your real estate agent uses. The reason is that the lender is known and has a proven record. This way, you know the lender is looking out for your best interest and not out to “get” you.
Now, we do recommend that you avoid using a lender who is a friend. The person is probably qualified and trustworthy but mixing business with personal is never a good idea. When you meet someone that suggests a lender to you, you want to find out if they were satisfied, if they locked in a good interest rate, whether the service was above standard, if there were any delays in the process or any surprises, and most importantly, if they would use that same lender again.
Then, you always want to interview more than three lenders. In fact, we recommend you meet with about five so you can look at the various types of loans available, different interest rates, points, and even the way in which you are treated. After all, you are investing a lot of your hard-earned money so you deserve the best. Finding the best mortgage company takes time and it takes dedication on your part but the advantages are worth it.