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Choosing the Right Lender for Home Financing

 




With So Many Options Out There, How Do You Choose the Best Lender for Financing Your Home Loan?


The options can be overwhelming with all of the tv commercials, ads online and flyers in the mail that you see for different financial institutions. Choosing the right lender for your home buying purchase is important- here's the easiest way to figure out who you should go with.


Ask your real estate agent:

If you find a real estate agent who you plan to hire, you work well with and trust, then you should ask them who they would recommend for financing. Chances are, if you work well with that agent, then you would also work well with the trusted lender that they team up with. 

One benefit to working with a lender your real estate agent uses frequently is they can then rave to the listing agent about how good that lender is when submitting an offer. A lot of times, if a listing agent hasn't heard of a company, they ask the buyer's agent if they have any past experience with that lender. If the answer is no, it doesn't look as solid to the listing agent which then conveys to their seller client.

Know who not to go with:

If you'd like to shop around at multiple lending companies- maybe a bank, mortgage lender, credit union, etc., to see who you like more, ask your real estate agent who they'd recommend for different companies. I know that I have come across many lending companies I would recommend even if its not my go-to lender's company as well as a few I would not. 

There are a few lending companies that come to mind (I won't name names) that have a bad rep in the real estate industry. It seems to be pretty well known with agents which companies to warn their seller's on based on past experiences for them or co-workers. When putting in an offer for a property, if the listing agent sees a pre-approval letter from a company they have had a horrible experience with in the past or know of as not good, they will warn their seller client of the potential nightmare ahead with financing.


Local looks best:

If an agent sees that your pre-approval letter is from an out of state/online institution that they have never heard of, they may warn the seller of the potential hazard ahead. Local company's look best to the listing agent when they know of them or have experience with them in the past. Maybe the local company you choose has a big presence in the community, the seller may have heard of them too which can make them feel more comfortable moving forward with you over another offer.

It is a good idea to use someone local in case anything were to go wrong, you can't get in touch with someone in a timely manner, documents needed to be delivered in person, something needs to be signed by hand etc., there would be no delays because you can drive right to their office to get things done.


Make sure to get your pre-approval:

Pre-qualification letters and pre-approval letters are words that seem to be used interchangeably. In this crazy seller's market we are currently in, your offer looks better if you get a pre-approval letter versus a pre-qualification letter from the lender you choose. When you first contact the lending company to apply, make sure they are planning to give you a pre-approval versus a pre-qualification and ask for them to provide you with the list of items they will need to get your information reviewed.



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