There's no doubt that online mortgage rates are typically more expensive. However, there is a mentality shift happening mostly with the younger generations, but also with more recent tech savvy generations. And that is, whereas in the past when most would be willing to pay more for personal, belly-to-belly service, we're now seeing more and more people (as a result of the Internet) who want quick, easy, no hastle service. Now that's not to say people still don't want a good deal, but there are many these days who would just rather not talk on the phone or meet a live person when making even the largest decisions in their lives. It is the question at the root of this ideology that has many in the service industries (i.e. real estate, lending, car sales, stock trading) a little concerned about the future. My feeling is that the Internet or technology will never fully replace the human because there will always be those who want and need personal attention, validation and good old fashioned communication when making such large decisions. BUT, as these younger generations develop along with technology and the trend I mention above grows deeper (and morphs into different strains), Internet and technology will take larger and larger chunks of business away from people. And ultimately, only the cream of the crop will survive...which is perfectly fine with me!

I couldn't agree with you more, Perrin...in that IDEALLY, we as Realtors want our clients and potential clients working with a lender (or ideally mortage banker) we know and trust in our community, and the same goes for the lender. This way we know our client is being taken care of because we trust the lender we refer clients to, and as you note, there is always a potential for referrals. And I couldn't agree with you more in that there are a handful of downfalls to using an online provider. My intent of this post is to provide real estate consumers some very basic information if they fall into the category of somebody who wants to go through an online lender. There are simply people who don't want to work belly to belly. Why? I discuss this at the 10,000 ft level above in a post. I could never go this route when making such a large transaction, and I would never suggest it to anybody AT FIRST...however, these consumers are out there and they are only going to increase as techology and the consumer evolve. Thus, my hope with this post was to provide two reputable online lenders in Bankrate and E-loan. The trade offs are there, but as Realtors I believe we must arm ourselves in order to support our clients, whatever route they choose to go...though, I do believe it's our duty to provide helpful suggestions (like the benefits to using a local mortgage banker)!

 Thanks kindly for your feedback, you are a wonderful educational resource and example to Erin and myself!

PS - I probably should have used a different title than, "Getting the best mortgage rates online." This subject's intent is not to suggest the best mortgage rates are online, but rather to share solid resources if one chooses the onine route.