There are a few analogies that we all could use when comparing shopping for a mortgage, shopping for rates, and mortgage fees. We could use shopping for shoes, shopping for cars, or even shopping for Christmas trees. I thought I would use shoes as an analogy so Ines Hegedus-Garcia, Kristal Kraft, and other females could possibly relate to this. Should I include Mike Mueller because he wrote a post, Choose Your Mortgage As You Would Your Shoes, which was a good post. 

So, what does shoes have to do with shopping for mortgages?  It's quite simple. Each shoe has a different fit, just like each mortgage is different for each borrower. The primary concern of a competent loan is to make sure that they understand that clients goals, what they want to accomplish, and to make sure that they won't be in over their head with their mortgage payment.

In any case, what inspired me to write this post was because of a comment that Fran Gaspari wrote in this post of mine, Good Faith Estimate -- What to look for when shopping......  Here is what Fran wrote. One of my pet peeves is when people shop for a mortgage by comparing interest rates. What a delusion. Your time would be far better spent calling 5 of your trusted friends who have recently purchased or refinanced and interviewing them. Thanks,   Fran

Summary : I think this is a better time than none to educate the consumer who is not only a first time homebuyer, or someone that is refinancing for the first time, but to educate those that have done either one multiple times.  Why am I bringing this up or possibly harping on this subject?  Because I have spoken to more than 10 respected loan officers here on ActiveRain, in my office, and some friends that I know in the mortgage industry.  Many of us are seeing more loan officers in the business right now that are doing their basic job when pre-qualifying a client. It's very easy to quote rate and fees. But not to give that specific client a copy of the good faith estimate (GFE) is just so sad and semi wrong.

So, why is it not good when the loan officer doesn't share this piece of paper with you?  Because maybe they are afraid to show their hand? Maybe later on, they can add a fee and state that they discussed this with you.  Maybe they don't want to let you shop and compare? I will admit, I will never be the cheapest. But define cheapest. The best rate with no fees might mean poor service. If someone is not going to make any money on your loan, will they work hard enough to make sure if closes on time? Not always. But this is not my point. If you feel really comfortable with one person while shopping, don't hesitate to go back to them again and go over what you have collected. I highly recommend this. If you find this person to have integrity and to be very honest and educating when speaking to them, give this person the benefit of the doubt. Trust me on this, you might regret it later. These that are great sales people can run circles around you. Those that want to help, will spend time with you and educate you.

For a few more articles on shopping for mortgages, please read :

•  Shop Shop, tisk tisk, oh what a relief it is? -- Mortgage shopping -- Part 1 of 2

•  Mortgage Shopping -- The Educated or Uneducated Borrower       -- Part 2 of 2

•  Shoppers that shop themselves right out of the market……
  

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For more information on FHA loans, please go to this link. The FHA Expert   You can also go to this group : The FHA Mortgage Group

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Copyright  © 2007   by Jeff Belonger