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Old 04-22-2011, 03:26 PM
 
Location: NW Austin
1,133 posts, read 4,178,918 times
Reputation: 174

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The last 2 times I bought a house, I listened to my agent's recommendation about which mortgage company to get pre-approved with before I started house-hunting. I was curious to know what other people do... seems like there is probably a better way to do this online? I wouldn't mind using a local Austin company either (shop local and all that!).

Any suggestions?

Thanks!
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Old 04-22-2011, 07:58 PM
 
Location: Up in a cedar tree.
1,618 posts, read 6,604,934 times
Reputation: 563
Is it a new or used home you are looking @ buying?

If new, it seems that the builder gives some good deals if you go w/ their lender.

As for used home, go get your own loan / pre-approved.
Are you looking @ going conventional or FHA?
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Old 04-22-2011, 08:18 PM
 
509 posts, read 1,541,041 times
Reputation: 291
Fwiw, my brother and SIL just got a good deal on a home mortgage through Lendingtree.com. That may be a good way to get your feet wet and see what kind of numbers they come back to you with.
Good luck!
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Old 04-23-2011, 01:55 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
16,787 posts, read 48,935,370 times
Reputation: 9478
We have had really good experiences with Tommy Nelms, United Lending, LLC, here in Austin. Both with a new mortgage and refinancing it later when rates dropped and refinancing a rental property.
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Old 04-23-2011, 02:14 PM
 
Location: Texas Hill Country
2,392 posts, read 9,632,671 times
Reputation: 806
We had good luck with IBC bank..but we also found so great deals online at the time also.
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Old 04-23-2011, 09:55 PM
 
473 posts, read 1,325,380 times
Reputation: 410
You should definitely call more than one, make sure both know you are calling more than one, and play them off of each other ("this guy says he can get me x%", etc.)

Doesn't hurt to call the one recommended by your realtor, as they've likely worked together before. That said, to only work with one is asking to get ripped off.

+1 for united lending. I had a different broker than the one mentioned, but they were great.
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Old 04-24-2011, 01:12 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
2,357 posts, read 7,883,459 times
Reputation: 1013
We just bought a house last week and used the local Colonial Mortgage branch (upon our realtor's recommendation - he did give us a few to check out). They are stable and don't sell off your loan. They were VERY prompt and everything from pre-approval to the processing of all of our loan documents was done via emails/fax. And they did find us a pretty nice rate.

When it came time to close, we met personally with the title company to fill out and sign everything. A few annoying moments with faxes and such but overall, pretty easy. The bad thing about doing everything online though is that the processors might email you 10 X a day asking for various docs etc...as they are working on your loan documents. Could be a pain for some people.
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Old 04-24-2011, 09:03 AM
 
152 posts, read 280,425 times
Reputation: 94
Lending tree and other online services simply use independent mortgage brokers and charge a big set up fee to contact their leads, and a closing fee of about $500 if the loan closes, so the online guys automatically have a $700-$800 higher cost to start with than an independent broker.
Comparing loans should be pretty easy most of the time . If you want a 30 year fixed rate mortgage for example, and you get three quotes of:
4.75% at a cost of $2000
4.75% at a cost of $2500
4.875% at a cost of $2000
Which one is the best? If you can't figure out that out, then go with your realtor or CPA's recommendation.
The key in apples to apples comparing is to get the quotes on the same day, at the same time, because rates are constantly changing. Talk to three or four lenders and ask them all to send you their best quote at noon on the next day. Ask for reference letters also, and go with the one whose rate and fees are in the ballpark and seems the most trustworthy and honest.
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Old 04-24-2011, 03:49 PM
 
Location: Round Rock
481 posts, read 2,412,988 times
Reputation: 254
Don't use Lendingtree. I used them on my last house and ended up with a higher rate than what I was quoted initially. I agree with others and call around yourself and compare Good Faith Estimates. I did that on my refinance and the difference in closing costs between companies is crazy. I called and compared 5 companies listed in the real estate section of the Sunday Austin paper.
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Old 04-26-2011, 09:31 AM
 
Location: NW Austin
1,133 posts, read 4,178,918 times
Reputation: 174
Good advice! Thanks.
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