If you are like most consumers, you are not sure where to even begin when you are looking to buy a home. Should you talk with a Realtor first, should you talk with your personal bank first, should you talk with a mortgage company or mortgage broker first???? These are all very common questions and concerns that take place every day all throughout the nation.

A good place to start is by talking with friends, family and co-workers. Let them know you are in the market to buy a home and see if they have any recommendations for a reputable company/person to work with. Whether it is a Realtor, loan officer, mortgage banker, mortgage consultant or whomever they have worked with and were pleased with, see if anyone you know can recommend someone to you. This is the simplest and easiest way to find someone that you can hopefully trust and that will be able to provide you with the same great service that they provided your friend, family or co-worker with. Remember, just because you contact them does not mean that you have to work with them. If after you talk with them you realize that you don't feel comfortable with them or you don't feel you can trust them for any reason contact another company. Your mortgage is one of the single largest investments in your life and should be treated accordingly. Let this person know that they came recommended to you from Mr. or Mrs. XYZ and that you are also talking with another company or two. For some reason if you let them know you are already talking with someone else they will either try to provide you with the absolute best service they can, or their "true colors" will come out and they will treat you as though you don't matter because they don't want to put in too much time or effort because you may work with someone else. If this is how they respond, then this makes your decision that much easier as to who to work with.

After you have talked with a mortgage professional or two I would recommend that you do a little online research to look into the company and/or the individual that you are working with. Search state regulator agency websites, search licensing records, visit the Better Business Bureau's website, check out RipOffReport.com, Google search the company' name contained in "quotes," and do any other research that you can think of or that you deem necessary to find out what kind of company you are dealing with. Keep in mind the size of the company you are dealing with. If you are working with a national company with thousands of employees and they have 10 complaints, that is not a very big deal, especially considering the size of this industry. However, if you are dealing with a small local company with only 5 employees and they have 10 complaint against them in the past year, this could definitely be something that should possibly concern you. Granted the nature of the complaints, whether they were resolved or not and who they were complaints against should also weigh in on your decision.

After all of this, obtaining referrals, talking with 2-3 companies/mortgage professionals, and doing your "homework" on the companies themselves, you should have a pretty good idea as to who seems the most genuine and who you think you will feel most comfortable working with. Many times once you find one mortgage professional to work with, whether it be a loan officer or a Realtor, they can often direct you to someone else that they trust and have worked with to handle the other aspect of your homebuying process. Again, you do not have to work with this person, it is simply a recommendation or a referral of someone that you can work with.

In the state of Ohio the regulatory agency in the mortgage industry is the Department of Commerce's Division of Financial Institutions. You can access their website online, look up information about mortgage companies, perform licensing checks, and file a complaint against a company. Here are some useful links for Ohio consumers:

http://www.com.state.oh.us/dfi/ (main link)

http://www.com.state.oh.us/dfi/Consumers.aspx (helpful information)

http://www.com.state.oh.us/dfi/usefullinks.htm (other helpful links as well)

http://elicense2-lookup.com.ohio.gov/SearchCriteria.asp (license look-up: company and individual)

https://www.com.ohio.gov/dfi/fiin_apps/public_enf_lookup/default.aspx (enforcement actions)

Here are a few other helpful links for you to research companies:

http://www.bbbonline.org/www.ripoffreport.com

http://www.ripoffreport.com/

http://www.ag.state.oh.us/

To finish off, it is recommended that you talk with a mortgage professional first to get pre-approved for your home mortgage before dealing with a Realtor. This way you will be able to first obtain a pre-approval, know how much you are pre-approved for, show your Realtor that you are a serious buyer, and you will be able to best utilize your time along with the Realtor's time. Going to a Realtor first may end up being a possible mistake if you find out that you are not able to get approved for a mortgage at this time (under the terms and conditions that you need or want) or you may end up looking at homes that are way out of the price range that you qualify for. Therefore, if you are in the need of a mortgage loan or looking to buy your first home in the state of Ohio please contact me to get pre-approved or if you just simply have some questions that you would like help with.

Items needed to get pre-approved for a home loan:

* Last 2 years W2's for all borrowers

* 2 most recent pay-stubs for all borrowers

* 2 months of bank statements, asset statements, retirement account statement, or any other liquid asset statements that you have to better your chances at approval for a great rate

* proof of current rent or mortgage payments (if applicable)

* proof of bankruptcy discharge (if applicable)

* proof of alimony/child support income (if being used for qualifying and if applicable)

* proof of amount of child support/alimony paid (if applicable)

Other items may be needed as well but this should get you off to a good start. Remember communication is key to a smooth and enjoyable mortgage and home buying experience. Be upfront and honest so that any possible issues can be taken care of up front instead of surprises arising at or right before the scheduled loan closing.