Comparing Lenders for Best Deal

[Konrad Lightner]

Hi All,

What are some of the qualities that I should use to compare conventional lenders?  A friend of mine, said to get these to compare.

• Good Faith Estimate
• Interest Rate APR
• Bank Fees

Right now my wife and I are on the stage of getting pre-approval so that we can take a closer look at some properties.

• If pre - approved from one lender/bank do you have to use them?

Thanks in advance for your help!  

Any other info about this subject would be greatly appreciated!

Konrad Lightner

[William Allen]

TIL is truth in lending, typically this is what you will get from a loan officer before you go forward with a contract. It is not a GFE, good faith estimate, and is subject to change. However, the TIL will have all the fees, origination charges, appriasal cost, survey fee, etc... that you would expect to see from them. These fees can change frequently before you lock something up.

I am in your same situation now, but I have narrowed my list down to 3-4 lenders and now have a signed contract to move forward. I have another day or two before I have to pick one, currently hoping the market will drop a little in the next day or so.

What I sent out to the lenders when I was shopping around was a request for a TIL statement at 3 different rates (for me it was 4.375, 4.5 and 4.625 on an investment property loan). I gave them my estimated credit score, property location (not exact address since I didn't have it yet), amount of the loan, how much money I was putting down and LTV (loan to value) of the house which was assuming it would appraise at the amount I was going to offer, and the time it would take them to close. I then narrowed it down to 3-4 and called them to see how they sounded on the phone and get a feel for them. Everyday since, I have been asking for updated rates to be ready to move forward.

If you like one company over another but they don't have the best rate, feel free to go to them with the best rate you have and ask them if they can match it. They may be able to do it and then you will go with the company you think will fit your situation the best at the best rate.

These are just a few things that I have seen over the past month and previous deals I have done. I am not a loan officer and don't know all the inner workings of the buisness, just another investor like you. Good luck.