How do I get accurate mortgage quotes from multiple lenders?

[Michael Lettieri]

I want to get quotes from multiple lenders to get the best rate. However all of these agencies are telling me they need to run a hard credit check. I’m afraid if multiple runs are made on my credit then my score will be affected.

One agent said that if multiple lenders run my score it will only affect my score once. Is this true? Please advise on the best way to shop around. Thank you in advance.

[Chris Mason]

Here you go, good luck to you. Most mortgage brokers refuse to work with them, in spite of the rates, just because their customers will hate them so much. But, hey, they saved that last $12.75 per month, heh.

The reality is that there are a lot of lenders like that, they come into the market with the best rate, go out, come back in, etc, and right now this is on a bi-weekly basis rather than quarterly (pre-covid). They are a dime a dozen. Right now, folks being obsessed with rate and nothing else are also a dime a dozen, which is why you are getting the responses you are getting.

Simple formula. Post the best pricing. Take in 5000 apps, have them all order the appraisal, have them all submit paperwork, and cherry pick the 2000 or so that they will actually fund. If rates go up and you locked in when they were low, find an excuse to deny the loans, or delay them so the rate lock is blown. Conversely, if you lock and rates drop more, whelp sorry your rate is locked, what can be done. Some little thing in the file that would require a little extra work to get it through? Nah, just deny the loan, move onto the next. None of the CFPB required disclosures require lenders to disclose what percentage of loans they deny (relative to market norms) or turntimes or anything like that.

What is consistent across years and years, hundreds of people, and so on, is that folks only say "I want the lowest rate!" on the front end. If I as the loan originator am just being an order taker, and do what they say, they will completely hate me by the end of the transaction (assuming it even gets there...) and not be at all grateful for that extra $12.75 in monthly savings. Locking that rate isn't the end of the process, it's the START of the process. 

But, of course, I get it, the homeowner/homebuyer knows best, and it's just about the lowest rate, right? :P Great, go for it. There's the price leader up above, phone number and website, no further need to shop around (you couldn't pay me enough to broker a loan there, fwiw).