Best place to refinance? (Austin, Wells: real estate, mortgage broker, credit)

[mraytv]

Austin telco and UFCU seem to have the best rates I can find on a 15yr loan. Does anyone know of better places?

[Moonlady]

I'd go with a mortgage broker. They can usually find the best deals out there.

[centralaustinite]

I got a great rate at Bank of America.

[woodinvilleguy]

we used a broker through lending tree via the costco site. The brokers typically can get you the best rates out there. and using lending tree you get the brokers competing. Plus costco will give you a rebate back I think.

[CATXTransplant]

Always, Always, Always go with a mortgage broker. They have access to 30+ banks and shop at the wholesale rate. I'll DM you with a great broker(Suzanne Michaels). My clients always get 3 quotes and she can't be beaten.

[rrrhhhggg]

Beware anytime you hear the words - "Always, Always, Always". These are the words that caused the housing collapse, and caused people to follow other financially unsound advice.

* "Always, Always, Always home prices have gone up"
* "Always, Always, Always stocks have returned 10% or more when held for 10 or more years"
etc

Shop around as many places as possible. Tell the broker, banker that you are shopping around. Do not always believe the so called "experts" who tell you that they will line you up with somebody.

I bought a home recently and did shop around, despite my real estate agent telling me that her mortgage lender was the "best" and had access to 30+ banks. None of these 30 banks gave me as good a rate as UFCU. Not that I am suggesting UFCU is the best, and I am not affiliated with UFCU in any way. UFCU today may not give you the best rates.

The simple rule is - call as many brokers and bankers as possible.

[Torontonian]

Wachovia, Wells Fargo have good rates

Just checked UFCU - oops, $5700 closing cost vs $2500 at Wachovia

[woodinvilleguy]

you can also use amerisave.com to see the current rates of major lenders too.

[austin-steve]

Austin telco and UFCU seem to have the best rates I can find on a 15yr loan. Does anyone know of better places?

I like Austin Telco. I do all my banking there. They really are hard to beat. Perhaps not impossible to beat, but they are a solid conservatively run credit union and I like to reward good local businesses.

They partner on their mortgage products with a Texas lender, use to be called Ft. Worth Mortgage but the current name slips my mind.

[FromCalitoSteinerRanch]

Originally Posted by woodinvilleguy

we used a broker through lending tree via the costco site. The brokers typically can get you the best rates out there. and using lending tree you get the brokers competing. Plus costco will give you a rebate back I think.

Google Lending Tree and decide if some of the hits you will see are something you should consider or not when making a decision to use them. After I Googled Lending Tree, I just went with my CU. I locked at 5% on 3/13, and will probably kick myself in a week or so when they drop to 4.75%. By the way, this is a "No No" refi, just $1875 in fees with a 8.6 month payback period.