fish out of water here - how do i get a mortgage? which is better - bank or mortgage broker/lender? (real estate, insurance)

[sweetpotato]

i filled out an application today on lending tree and got a great quote from wcs lending. but i've heard you can get a great quote then when their appraiser comes in, the mortgage can get screwed up - does this happen often? do you always want the appraiser to value the house higher than the purchase price?
do you think it's better to call a bank directly for a quote?

CAN ANYONE RECOMMEND A RELIABLE, ETHICAL MORTGAGE BROKER/LENDER?

sorry for the many questions! once our offer was accepted, there just seems to be so much to do and i just don't know what i'm doing. the more advice you can give me, the more it'll help me, i'm totally new to this process.

[gagaliya]

i am not quite sure what you are asking here
1) all the lending tree competition offers and rates are bs, you need to call them and provide some detail to get the real rate for that day, also the fees they charge.
2) mortgage appraiser again is just game, they will probably appraise it the same amount as your price, unless of course it's way off overpriced. And if they do appraise it at a lower price, it may not be a bad thing as it forces the seller to reduce the price. Your credit, income etc..are much more important in whether or not you will get a mortgage.
3) As for brokers, i would start just calling up the banks. wells fargo, chase, citi, bank of america, etc.. It's very simple: here's the loan i want, my credit rating and income info, what is the lowest rate you can give me, and the total fee you charge (dont care what you call it, just give me the final fee $). Then pick the best one.

[Bill Keegan]

Originally Posted by sweetpotato

i filled out an application today on lending tree and got a great quote from wcs lending. but i've heard you can get a great quote then when their appraiser comes in, the mortgage can get screwed up - does this happen often? do you always want the appraiser to value the house higher than the purchase price?
do you think it's better to call a bank directly for a quote?

CAN ANYONE RECOMMEND A RELIABLE, ETHICAL MORTGAGE BROKER/LENDER?

sorry for the many questions! once our offer was accepted, there just seems to be so much to do and i just don't know what i'm doing. the more advice you can give me, the more it'll help me, i'm totally new to this process.

You're buying a house? Congratulations.
Did your real estate agent not recommend a mortgage broker? Did you call your bank and ask them? Do you know someone who's bought a house recently and had a good experience? From what I know of Lending Tree, you should have gotten offers from more than one lender.
Sure, you want the appraiser to tell you your house is worth more than you paid for it. That would mean you got a great deal, and will be at least somewhat cushioned agaisnt market declines. More importantly, you want the appraiser to give you an honest evaluatuion of the value of the house. If it turns out that you've agreed to pay more than the appraiser feels it's worth, you want to know that NOW, not later.

[sweetpotato]

Thank you. Sorry for my post being all over the place - that's how I feel right now as I'm trying to understand how to shop for a mortgage! I did get many offers through Lending Tree, I guess I'm just nervous that these offers may be shady, not up-front about fees, etc., but I'm getting better interest rate quotes from lenders than when I call the banks directly, so I'm not sure what to do.
My agent recommended a mortgage broker from within her own real estate agency. I did call him but didn't get a very good quote so I wanted to try some other outlets.
I just don't understand these numerous additional fees involved with buying the house on top of the down payment and mortgage.
What fees have nothing to do with the lender? So far I know: attorney fee, home insurance, inspector fee.
What are the lender fees? Some have been telling me their only fee is the application fee, and I'm afraid there are other fees they're not telling me about.

[Bill Keegan]

Originally Posted by sweetpotato

Thank you. Sorry for my post being all over the place - that's how I feel right now as I'm trying to understand how to shop for a mortgage! I did get many offers through Lending Tree, I guess I'm just nervous that these offers may be shady, not up-front about fees, etc., but I'm getting better interest rate quotes from lenders than when I call the banks directly, so I'm not sure what to do.
My agent recommended a mortgage broker from within her own real estate agency. I did call him but didn't get a very good quote so I wanted to try some other outlets.
I just don't understand these numerous additional fees involved with buying the house on top of the down payment and mortgage.
What fees have nothing to do with the lender? So far I know: attorney fee, home insurance, inspector fee.
What are the lender fees? Some have been telling me their only fee is the application fee, and I'm afraid there are other fees they're not telling me about.

Soem of them will wrap all the fees up and give you that number, others will quote you a low number and then add fees on top of it. Tha appraisal fee is a standard one. If the lender doesn't tell you there is an appraisal fee, you have to wonder what ther fees they will try to tell you about later. Have you tried just asking a few of the lendes directly? Tell tehm you want to know all the fees they will be charging you, or might be charging you, from the moment you ask to be approved for a mortgage right up to the moment you close. Tell them you understand that some will be estimates which may change based on the particular house you buy, but that you want a list of all the possible fees. They should be willing to provide that to you. And when they give it to you, if there are fees listed that you don't undewrstand, or that you think should not be charged to you, ask them about them.

[mumra]

I've heard that american federal is upfront and honest, dont charge bogus fees like credit report, appraisals, ect... Also check out loansearch based in verona.

[gagaliya]

attorney fee is separate, that's between you and your attorney. The rest fees, dont waste time trying to go through them, just get the total fee cost from the lender and tell them that's exactly the amount you will pay at closing, of course check before you sign. They can charge $1000 for faxing fees if they want, as long as the total $ is lower that's all that matters.

if i remember the name correctly, american federal is pretty good, i used them in the past for a mortgage. The thing i never understood is the underlying bank was wells fargo, but when i called them directly the rate they gave was a lot higher.

[SuperOx]

Sweetpotato, Congrats on taking the first step towards owning your own home!

I actually work with LendingTree clients on a daily basis and maybe I can offer a little bit of insight.

First and foremost, don't believe anything you see on the initial offers from LT. They are computer generated and based on only a small portion of what your exact situation really is.

For the best results, call the companies that were recommended to you and have a detailed conversation with each of them. Get to know each other a little bit and speak with them frankly, answer their questions truthfully so that they can put together an accurate loan proposal for you. Let them know that you plan on entertaining a few different offers and that you expect them to offer you their best deal. Once they have put the pricing together, take detailed notes and have them send you a GFE (Good Faith Estimate) for reference.

I always say that about 40% of your decision on who to proceed with will be based on the numbers, you have to rely on your gut for the other 60% which is why I recommended getting to know each other a bit during your initial phone calls. You want to proceed with who you are most comfortable with AND who you feel will truly deliver on the numbers they have presented to you.

There might be a time where you have already decided to proceed with someone and then a competitor will call you back and try to "undercut." Personally, I don't like this and if a company did this to me I would never do business with them. I asked for their best offer the first time around and if they are able to do better now, when they may not get the loan, it just means that they were overcharging me originally.....No thank you!

I would also steer clear of anyone who is looking for money/fees up front. The only common/customary fee up front should be for the appraisal, which you will be required to pay out of pocket, usually directly to the appraiser him/herself. In NJ, the common appraisal fee for a single family home is somewhere between $250.00 & $350.00.

While this is an extremely important decision, you also don't want to over-do it with analysis. Examine/ compare the offers, figure out who you "gel" with the best and who's loan you are most comfortable with then go for it!

Feel free to IM me with any other questions you may have.

Sean

[sweetpotato]

Thank you so much! This is GREATLY helpful.

[armx]

Just to piggy-back on Superox post - Ask the mortgage co. contacts to put their best foot forward - sharpen their pencil - whichever phrase you like and then compare the 800 numbers in the GFE because those are the numbers you can hold lenders to - all others are just a guesstimate on their part and they will weasel their way out. Even in the 800 level numbers they will try to weasel out but tell them up front that you will hold their 800 item numbers to be true and you will not enetrtain any changes in them at the final settlement time.

ONLY use 800-items-cost when comparing different lenders -mortgage cos.