(My mama told me) You better shop around!

Janna, I hope it all works out and isn't a case of "if it's too good to be true it..."  It seems like all the lenders are pretty good people by being honest with the other offer's value. It's got to be nice to have a savvy buyer, too!
Thanks for sharing.
Bruce

Most people don't have the contacts or stomach for shopping for a mortgage.

While I totally agree with shopping around, I totally disagree with doing so AFTER the buyer finds the perfect house.  In my market, sellers want to see pre-approval WITH the offer submitted.  The sellers aren't waiting around for the buyer to find the perfect loan.  The sellers don't care.  They want to see the loan in place, or they're just not going to accept the offer.  Pre-approval is big in my market and shopping for a home first and then shoppng for a mortgage doesn't work at all here.

Smart guy, I have had some buyers do the same thing. They were smart folks. It really helps the buyer feel good about proceeding when the competition say, yea you have got a good deal there.

This is a cute post and the song embedded is a plus.

As a word of caution, all Realtors have lived though transactions with clients that had financing fall through. Some lenders over promise and under deliver. This is particularly true of out of state lenders when the agent or buyer can't walk into their office and say "what going on with my file". A local loan officer will almost always have a higher degree of personal responsibility. Who knows, the borrower could be behind me in the bakery line next week.

I can't begin to tell you the lengths our office goes to in order to get every application accepted to fund.

If you have an out of state lender horror story, please post it. I'd love to see who has the best!!

 

Thanks for the song

 

Janna, my only thought was that hopefully it isn't one of those lenders who make promises they can't deliver, but you must know who the lender is or you would have cautioned them. IT does pay to shop around!

Sharon

Janna,

Great tips in the post along with great tips in the responses.

Thanks

I wonder why he did not go and get pre approved prior to looking? I hope the house was still there when all was said and done. All that matters is that it was.

Janna,

Smart MAMA!  Shopping around makes good sense, then evaluating the devil of the details helps you finalize what works better for you. 

Be careful about saving just $10 bucks a month, as we've seen missed closings as they just aren't paying attention, i.e. can't deliver what they promise.  

All the best, Michelle

Yep, and it's helpful if that shopping around happens on the same day. As we know, rates change daily. I had a client shop around after we were already in escrow (yikes!) and the 'new' lender made all sorts of promises they couldn't keep.

It is important to shop around.  However, often it is difficult to know when interviewing lenders if you are comparikng apples with apples.

Hello Janna,

I always suggest three names of the lenders to my buyers. I want them to get best deal possible on their loan.

I guess I am playing role of mamma here :)

Have a great week.

I tell my buyers the same this but I like the idea of sending them an email with the above video. Great way to make a point.

Absolutely always a great idea to shop around -  but above all else, the smartest move is to shop around based on referrals from people you trust or have had a good experience.

Promising a low rate and low costs is one thing, but there are an awful lot of lenders who give you exactly what you pay for...the headache of getting a loan or heartache of losing a new home because of a mistake made by a lender isn't worth saving a few bucks in most cases.

I would have to agree with Carla #12. Your buyers are very fortunate that the house of their dreams was still available after they shopped around for a lender and compared them all. It is great to compare, but get the ball rolling before you start looking so that when you find the right house and get into escrow, you can shop for a lender with real numbers, an address and a closing date. Good luck!

Janna - It sounds like both of these lenders were great.  The one for admitting they couldn't beat it, and the other for saying they'll stick to their estimate.

It pays to shop around for any major purchase (and some not so major).  It just takes a little time not something everyone wants to do.  Those that take the time usually benefit.

It does pay to shop around to various lenders.  Some are charging outrageous fees.  I guess the new disclosures seem to be working.

The best of both worlds is a mortgage from a lender that offers a Guaranteed Mortgage Quote instead of a so-called "pre-approval".  A Guaranteed Mortgage Quote lender promises to pay a financial penalty to the borrower and the seller if the lender's error causes the transaction to not close.  You know a Guaranteed Mortgage Quote lender will pay real close attention to make sure they can close the mortgage on the terms they disclosed on the GFE.