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Before you go shopping for a new home, go loan shopping. Having a
pre-qualification letter to submit along with your offer will put you one
step ahead of your competition and the Seller will realize you're a
serious Buyer.
There is a lot more to the mortgage process than getting a good rate.
High costs in fees and poor service can be very unhappy surprises.
Here’s a list of suggested questions to ask a lender.
- Are you a licensed mortgage broker or loan officer in Texas?
- How large is your company and how long has it been in business?
- Is your company a mortgage banker or a mortgage broker?
A banker lends its own funds and a broker searches various mortgage sources
and arranges for you to receive financing from the lending entity.
- What is the name, phone number, and e-mail address of the person who will
actually be processing my loan application and how accessible is that person?
- Tell me about all loan fees. What fees must I pay up front? What fees will I
have to pay at closing? - Do the costs you are quoting include the lender origination fee?
- Are there loans available with no origination fees or closing costs?
- What are your interest rates?
- Is there a fee to lock in my interest rate and how long can I lock in
the rate?
- If interest rates go down, can I switch to the lower rate? If so, is
there a fee for that? - What information must I provide to get a mortgage loan?
- What documentation will I have to provide?
- How long will it take to get final loan approval and be ready to close?
- I plan to stay in this house for ___ years. Can you show me the breakdown of any ARMs you offer vs. fixed-rate loans to see which could save me the most money?
- What is private mortgage insurance and how much will it cost?
- Other than a 20% down payment, how can I avoid the PMI?
NOTE: Currently, Texas-licensed mortgage brokers must use the
standard Conditional Qualification and Conditional Approval letters
when representing that an applicant is pre-qualified or pre-approved
for a mortgage loan. |
