Be Prepared when Seeking a Mortgage

When you're looking for a mortgage, whether it's a first time loan or you're taking advantage of an opportunity to refinance an existing mortgage, it may seem that you're wading through a quagmire of uncharted territory. If you're prepared ahead of time, you'll avoid some of the common pitfalls and know how to find the best deal for your situation.

Remember that you are the consumer and that you are shopping for a service. That means that you have the right to be treated as a customer. Ask questions and keep asking until you get all the answers you are looking for. If a potential lender is reluctant to spend the time addressing your concerns, you don't have to do business with that particular company. In today's market with the opportunities to shop for a mortgage online, finding a lender is the least of your worries.

Look for the best interest rates, but also search for a lender who offers the mortgage without the high closing costs. There are likely to be some requirements for closing the loan. You may be asked to pay for an appraisal, home inspection and even a survey if property is involved in the transaction. Those are fairly standard but be wary of a company that charges a large additional fee for closing costs though you can expect a moderate fee. A lender is a business and as such, is in business to make money. That means that you as the consumer should expect to pay for the service, but comparing fees and interest rates will help you find the best possible deal on your mortgage.

Finally, be aware of unbelievable claims. A company that promises you'll be approved for a loan regardless of credit is probably making promises that they can't keep. If you're asked to pay an application fee with this guarantee, you could be wasting your money. In some cases, the lender will approve the loan, but will make unreasonable requirements for repayment or down payment. If you then can't meet the terms, the company will have fulfilled their promise - they did offer you the loan. Your application fee is typically non-refundable and you've simply lost that money.

Mark Lambie is the founder of The Loan House a website that allows consumers to quickly and easily get mortgage quotes and mortgage information.

In The News:
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.postchronicle.com/news/business/article_212190469.shtmlcid=1277091985ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNFwlT75M3Pb2k-41Cewjd30olbKvwimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=YuTugCVI7XMJimgurl=www.postchronicle.com/images/articles/sale.jpg width=80 height=51 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Post Chronicle/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news%3Fpid%3D20601087%26sid%3Da_i8357NDD7k%26refer%3Dhomecid=1277091985ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNGmHNs_WtSLo-PSTVuFIZ3BkBLcLgUS MBA’s bMortgage/b Applications More Than Doubled Last Week/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBloombergnbsp;-/font nobr8 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The bMortgage/b Bankers Association’s index of applications to purchase a home or brefinance/b a loan jumped 112 percent to 857.7, the highest level since March, b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/big-rate-drop-sends-mortgage/story.aspx%3Fguid%3DABF1DD99-9E4D-4F47-94EE-7E0956A6FE64%26dist%3DSecMostReadcid=1277091985ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNGvGRmy0fvxB61sGIreIXcU9dYzcgbMortgage/b applications up 112.1% last week, due to drop in rates: MBA/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMarketWatch/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iGO3ptAO6a54_9bVj7EorgcgBWSQD94RAE1G0cid=1277091985ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNF7WglrJrQdd64kxgZ6T3W0q9G-rAbMortgage/b application, brefinance/b volume surge/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrThe Associated Press/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2008-12-03-mortgage-applications_N.htmcid=1277091985ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNFP4vcAeif5kvS9zkzQzUW6J1LPIgFalling rates spark rush to bmortgage/b applications/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrUSA Today/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.reuters.com/article/economicNews/idUSN0333008520081203cid=1277091985ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNEoftA--1wGJOTf-1tBXBndsnzkRQnobrReuters/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://economy.kansascity.com/%3Fq%3Dnode/409cid=1277091985ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNHtzFIezaoFOYGiWVuD1mj1sOymcQnobrKansas City Star/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1277091985hl=ennobrall 126 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE4B27JG20081203cid=0ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNEH6wQWqopgtzfMnhA8cqpQcvZT1gLower bmortgage/b rates help but jobs, prices key/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fReutersnbsp;-/font nobr13 minutes ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Applications to buy and brefinance/b homes hurtled higher last week as the lowest rates since the summer of 2005 unleashed pent-up demand. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200812031401DOWJONESDJONLINE000799_FORTUNE5.htmcid=1277240284ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNFV0gjfdiESkX52tvQOh_8qvkAsNgHome Builders Soar On Lower bMortgage/b Rates, But Pain Persists/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fCNNMoney.comnbsp;-/font nobr1 hour ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1As consumers raced to lock in lower rates, applications to brefinance/b existing loans jumped 203.3% last week from the week before, while bmortgage/b b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.dnronline.com/news_details.php%3FAID%3D33724%26CHID%3D1cid=1277240284ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNGGHz1E_IArnJ-6PQY1Knu7OVof6g30-Year Rates At Lowest Since ‘03/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrHarrisonburg Daily News Record/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2008/12/03/economists-stabilize-home-prices-by-cutting-them-drastically/cid=1277240284ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNFeQHT-rArwkR0GIX7AZle1XN6ttAEconomists: Stabilize Home Prices By Cutting Them Drastically/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWall Street Journal Blogs/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1277240284hl=ennobrall 5 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/bulls-bears-slug-out-over/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257BD706D818-06FC-4461-9AA0-6BE928A0AF20%257Dcid=0ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNF9k0zJk0i__ky_XRnSNs-IfkKPtgFINANCIAL STOCKS Bulls, bears slug it out over financial stocks/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr29 minutes ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1A recent downward spike in bmortgage/b rates has sparked a rise in bmortgage/b and brefinance/b applications, according to data from the bMortgage/b Bankers Association b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/fixedrate-trap-snares-43000-home-owners/2008/12/03/1228257139097.htmlcid=1277181419ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNG6xkEQimPiN64PBw5CvkbVDgkAsgimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=H67Akanm7v8Jimgurl=www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2008/12/03/christopher_zinn_narrowweb__300x490,0.jpg width=49 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Sydney Morning Herald/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/fixedrate-trap-snares-43000-home-owners/2008/12/03/1228257139097.htmlcid=1277181419ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNG6xkEQimPiN64PBw5CvkbVDgkAsgFixed-rate trap snares 43000 home owners/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fSydney Morning Herald,nbsp;Australianbsp;-/font nobr7 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1quot;People who are on a fixed-term bmortgage/b are invariably surprised to find out the size of the break fee when they choose to brefinance/b,quot; he says quot;Often it b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://raleigh.mync.com/site/raleigh/news%257CSports%257CLifestyles/story/20699/mortgage-brokers-now-is-good-time-to-refinancecid=0ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNE4KS37bSpf0Owyqdx9UtaJCRAclAbMortgage/b Brokers: Now Is Good Time To bRefinance/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMyNC.com,nbsp;NCnbsp;-/font nobr3 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By Lauren Hills, NBC17, 14 hours, 38 minutes ago While most money matters aren#39;t looking up right now, if you#39;re looking to brefinance/b your home, bmortgage/b b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news%3Fpid%3D20601068%26sid%3DaRtykQ8tqETY%26refer%3Dhomecid=1277209673ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNHScEhNCvu6HdrcLZVJ0nYmK8HQWAUS Economy: Service Companies Shrink at Record Pace (Update1)/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBloombergnbsp;-/font nobr3 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1“Things overall still look bad, but this, together with last week’s doubling in MBA brefinancing/b, provide glimmers of hope,” Ian Morris, chief US economist b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6143753.htmlcid=1276993206ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNH2sejT0YyTxjdksV2eMMHPRDPBMgimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=zDehzouC4NYJimgurl=www.chron.com/photos/2008/12/02/14221383/260xStory.jpg width=80 height=53 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Houston Chronicle/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6143753.htmlcid=1276993206ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNH2sejT0YyTxjdksV2eMMHPRDPBMgbMortgage/b proposal has faced conflict/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fHouston Chronicle,nbsp;United Statesnbsp;-/font nobr14 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1b.../b home prices fell and stricter bmortgage/b standards made it harder for borrowers to sell or brefinance/b, according to RealtyTrac, a provider of default data. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/02/AR2008120203155.htmlcid=1277101884ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNFJGt5yw6meCIPyf94c9dAQM6BFxAFHA Insurance Fund Has Fallen 39 Percent/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fWashington Post,nbsp;United Statesnbsp;-/font nobr13 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1If they suffer a financial blow, such as job loss, they will be more likely to default on their loan because they won#39;t be able to sell or brefinance/b. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.prweb.com/releases/VA/loans/prweb1696824.htmcid=1277101884ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNHMDdlLhvoe9zzJ3Oo8GkXzZ9svUARecession Lowers bMortgage/b Rates for VA Loans, Flagship Financial b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrPR Web (press release)/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1277101884hl=ennobrall 4 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/25/AR2008112501946.htmlcid=1275069318ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNEg-bxaQ9-DM-YGEZo5xOLwGuiRUwimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=fGMTG1XsEbUJimgurl=media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2008/11/25/PH2008112501947.jpg width=61 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Washington Post/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.latimes.com/business/investing/la-fi-mortgage27-2008nov27,0,3466653.storycid=1275069318ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNHvFrKaaoeTkSnzj1TiBGpHG3dOBwbMortgage/b rates fall, but many borrowers will have trouble qualifying/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fLos Angeles Times,nbsp;CAnbsp;-/font nobrNov 27, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Jeff Lazerson, a Laguna Niguel bmortgage/b broker, said all the customer calls he received Tuesday were from people seeking to brefinance/b, not buy homes. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/25/news/mortgage.revival.fortune/%3Fpostversion%3D2008112515cid=1275069318ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNHEUxAjqDBBSo-y2VOvbcBs5fu8BwbMortgage/b-market revival: Try, try again/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrCNNMoney.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.mortgages27nov27,0,9349.storycid=1275069318ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNF_cU7_0xx2DSREKfgVW9cNKwVUCAUS move cuts mortgages to lowest rate since February/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrBaltimore Sun/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news%3Fpid%3D20601087%26sid%3DaQ86JoZr_VFY%26refer%3Dhomecid=1275069318ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNG3VX7yKECrKhiFUK9Sk8tdC_p0cQbMortgage/b Rates Tumble on Fed Debt Purchasing Plan (Update1)/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrBloomberg/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.fool.com/personal-finance/retirement/2008/11/28/last-call-for-smart-homeowners.aspxcid=1275069318ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNE-bVS46pYWYPmSX9OZkpB6JsmGxwnobrMotley Fool/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7013205204cid=1275069318ei=b_E2SanEM5_S9QTyn-WgDwusg=AFQjCNFU773ZCjUrGoYUxIYJgFpH43hUvgnobrAHN/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1275069318hl=ennobrall 2,542 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
mortgage refinance - Google News

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