Timothy E. Lockhart - YOU HAVE OPTIONS: YOUR GUIDE TO AVOIDING FORECLOSURE

who will be able to give you the best advice and options, as well as help determine the best loan for your needs after the calculations are complete. Now that you’ve identified the house that you want to buy, and you have a professional mortgage advisor, how do you get the best mortgage deal?

COMPARE INTERESTS RATES

When shopping for home loans and looking for the best deal, the first step involves a comparison of interest rates. As mentioned, rates can (and do) change regularly and quickly, so it’s important to stay on top of this. If you’ve hired a mortgage broker, you’ll already be at an advantage for finding a good deal based on their current, up-to-date knowledge of the housing market and changing interest rates. It’s fairly straightforward to get mortgage interest rate quotes from banks and mortgage lenders, since most of these companies offer their services (including updated interest rates) online. Generally, you want to be looking for low interest rates, but your broker can advise you of the specifics. Compare all the associated fees, along with the interest rates, including origination fees, points, and any other fees that the lender might include in the deal. For example, any loan that’s regarded as a “no-fee loan” means that all fees have been included in the rates. Even if you’ve hired a mortgage broker to help you sort all this out, you still need to be involved in the process and do your own due diligence. It’s your responsibility to ensure you understand every aspect of the mortgage deal. You should do some thorough research and investigation, which includes interviewing whoever is handling the loan, and asking them all-important and relevant questions.

CHECK (AND FIX) YOUR CREDIT

Another task you should undertake before you begin looking for

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