Mortgage shopping

For those of you who did your mortgage shopping on your own without using a broker, how many places did you contact? How did you decide which ones to check out? Also, how far before the closing date in your contract did you start looking?

I've been doing online research by looking at rates on bankrate.com and some of the banks' individual websites. Any other tips would be greatly appreciated.

Re: Mortgage shopping

I started with my bank, then went to some other banks and just called up and got quotes from their mortgage dept.

I think I reviewed 5 or 6 mortgage companies/banks.

Then I pitted them up against each other. Chase out bid Wells Fargo for my house here in NY. Originally I had Wells Fargo here and refinanced with Chase.

Wells Fargo out bid Countrywide for my condo in AZ. They are the two biggest mortgage banks in AZ at the time. Now BofA is since they bought Countrywide.

It was some work but didn't really take long.

My bank was Citibank but they didn't have as good rates at the time. These things change all the time, so once you find the house and a great rate, lock it in. Don't try to wait out the market. I hear that the rates will go down a bit and months end.

Message edited 1/12/2008 6:47:27 PM.

Re: Mortgage shopping

Thanks Susan!

Anyone else have any advice?

Re: Mortgage shopping

Jackie-

Contact Long Island Housing Partnership. They've been great and have helped me get an amazing mortgage rate.

LIHP Link

Re: Mortgage shopping

I would start looking for a mortgage co. ASAP....it takes time and by the time you get into contract you should have an idea as to which Co. you are going with. If you are already in Contract you need to start ASAP. Usually your Contract indicates that you have a certain amount of time to obtain a mortgage commitment....its usually between 30 to 45 days.

I work for a real estate attorney.....and lately Chase has been the bank all of out clients have been going to.....but i would start with the Federal Credit Unions and the major banks.....Chase, Wells Fargo, etc.

Good luck....feel free to fm me with any questions.

Re: Mortgage shopping

We did all the leg work ourselves too and all we did was call all the banks and talked to people on the phone. We ended up with our Credit Union because they had the best rates and the least amount of fees. Plus closing costs were about $5,000 cheaper.