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First time Homebuyer question

Raisin_girl said: "I have been corresponding with a really nice lady from a mortgage company for months now about the different types of loans, what needs to be cleaned up as far as my CRs, ect. When the scores are up a little more and a couple more derogs get deleted (hopefully in the next 2 or 3 months), I will be contacting her to run the CR again and see what we qualify for. Once that is determined she stated that she would hook me up with good agent in our area. I am just wondering if I am supposed to "shop around" at different mortgage companies? I just want to do the smart thing and make sure I'm getting the best rate. The company that I have been dealing with stated that if I can get the scores in the low-mid 600's that I can probably get the interest rate around 6.25% and that my best bet would be FHA/VA combined loan. 3% down but she stated there are even ways around that. The homes in our area are [B][I]really[/I][/B] expensive (i.e. a shack sells for 200K here) :( So in order to get in a decent home we really have to get good rates and a low monthly payment. Does this sound ok? Understand I am new to all of this."

poorcreditguy said: "You may want to choose your own agent but it never hurts to meet with the one she recomends and see how comfortble you are with him/her. I would 'shop' around and research the lenders. They all can offer about the same rates depending on credit but you have to watch out for the terms of the loan. Prepayment Penalies and ARMs, any hidden fees, stuff like that. Most of the big lenders like WellsFargo give a slightly higher rate but they don't sell of their loans to sub prime servisers. And, you want to be sure that you know the rate at which your lender sells their loans, are they a broker or direct lender. The difference is that a broker will get you the loan and it will be sold over and over again to different servicers and eventualy landing in the lap of Homeq or another bad servicer. Just doing a little research goes along way. It seems like you may have a good loan officer if she is working with you on your credit and not trying to push you in to a loan program. Just try not to get in to the sub-prime group with higher rates and bad servicers. BTW: I went through all the wrong motions when I bought my home two years ago, so I have experienced the bad and ugly. Now I am selling my home just to get rid of the loan servicer...and to make a few bucks. My loan is being serviced by Homeq...a division of Wachovia associated with Barcklays bank. Good Luck!"

MichaelG said: "Find a reputable mortgage broker and let him/her do the shopping around for you--that's their job. Don't call different mortgage brokers or lenders playing one against the other. If you're sincere with your needs and concerns, they will find the best program to fit your needs. They will only need to pull your CR once, rather than having it pulled multiple times if you shop around. Mortgage brokers have several Lenders to choose from and lender representatives calling on them daily with loan program highlights/rates."

Raisin_girl said: "Yes, I feel like I have a good mortgage consultant. I almost feel as though I would be "cheating on her" (lol) if I shopped around. I want to stick with her but at the same time I want to make sure and get the best deal. This is just confusing (on top of being a buttload of money) and I want go about it the right way. Thanks for your input, guys. I appreciate it."

MichaelG said: "[QUOTE=Raisin_girl]Yes, I feel like I have a good mortgage consultant. I almost feel as though I would be "cheating on her" (lol) if I shopped around. [COLOR="Blue"]I want to stick with her but at the same time I want to make sure and get the best deal. [/COLOR] This is just confusing (on top of being a buttload of money) and I want go about it the right way. Thanks for your input, guys. I appreciate it.[/QUOTE] Sticking with her and communicating to her your seriousness about the best deal IS the right way to go about it IF she's doing what she should be doing for you. But in all fairness, you need to clearly let her know your expectations upfront. You need to tell her UPFRONTyou will go through another broker if you feel she's not getting the job done, but if you put her through all of the leg work and then leave her unexpectedly without warning or explanation, that would be totally unfair and inconsiderate of you. Time is money so respect people's time and they'll respect your time and your situation/needs. And remember, rate isn't the ONLY factor in determining what's best for you. There's down pmt, whether or not she can qualify you for zero down financing, negotiating a good offer on the purchase price, (the role of your real estate agent, if you have one), getting qualified for a loan that allows you to keep collections unpaid, etc. Although its important in figuring your payment, I would not put rate at the top of the list."

Raisin_girl said: "[QUOTE=MichaelG]Sticking with her and communicating to her your seriousness about the best deal IS the right way to go about it IF she's doing what she should be doing for you. But in all fairness, you need to clearly let her know your expectations upfront. You need to tell her UPFRONTyou will go through another broker if you feel she's not getting the job done, but if you put her through all of the leg work and then leave her unexpectedly without warning or explanation, that would be totally unfair and inconsiderate of you. Time is money so respect people's time and they'll respect your time and your situation/needs. And remember, rate isn't the ONLY factor in determining what's best for you. There's down pmt, whether or not she can qualify you for zero down financing, negotiating a good offer on the purchase price, (the role of your real estate agent, if you have one), getting qualified for a loan that allows you to keep collections unpaid, etc. Although its important in figuring your payment, I would not put rate at the top of the list.[/QUOTE] Thank you, Michael. I know you are in the mortgage business so I value your opinion. I understand what you are saying about rates not being the most important thing. It's just that when I use the mortgage calculators on alot of these sites, .5% can make a big difference on monthly payments. I guess that's why I'm so worried about it. And since the homes we are looking at are going to be "stretching" our budget (understatement), I am really hoping to get it around 6.25%. I love where I live but the cost of living is pretty high. I know I still have alot to learn. I will be going to the FHA class this month so I hope that will help answer alot of my questions too."

goodkiller said: "[QUOTE=Raisin_girl]Thank you, Michael. I know you are in the mortgage business so I value your opinion. I understand what you are saying about rates not being the most important thing. It's just that when I use the mortgage calculators on alot of these sites, .5% can make a big difference on monthly payments. I guess that's why I'm so worried about it. And since the homes we are looking at are going to be "stretching" our budget (understatement), I am really hoping to get it around 6.25%. I love where I live but the cost of living is pretty high. I know I still have alot to learn. I will be going to the FHA class this month so I hope that will help answer alot of my questions too.[/QUOTE] You should value my opinion, too, but value it as "crap". *heh*"

Raisin_girl said: "[QUOTE=goodkiller]You should value my opinion, too, but value it as "crap". *heh*[/QUOTE] Silly :rolleyes:"

pandorah said: "You are in a similar boat to us... we're looking at homes around $300K (gotta love California!!) Sure we can get a loan, but can we AFFORD said loan *sigh* You are not alone"

Raisin_girl said: "[QUOTE=pandorah]You are in a similar boat to us... we're looking at homes around $300K (gotta love California!!) Sure we can get a loan, but can we AFFORD said loan *sigh* You are not alone[/QUOTE] You don't know how good that is to hear. I see so many people posting on CB about "can we afford this 150K house?" and I feel like dying. lol Yeah. The homes I am looking at are around 350K and it's driving me insane."

94B10 said: "[QUOTE=pandorah]You are in a similar boat to us... we're looking at homes around $300K (gotta love California!!) Sure we can get a loan, but can we AFFORD said loan *sigh* You are not alone[/QUOTE] Yep, sounds about right for Cali. Went to visit my mom and couldn't believe that's how much for a 3 bedroom home. i could buy two houses with that kinda money where I live.:rolleyes: 94"

bobbyc99 said: "The whole reason I started credit repair is because I want to own my home in the worst way ( we rent now). Every house in this town is around 250K and up. Its really scary to think about those payments, but we love this town. We are members of great church here, We know just about everbody and the schools are some of the best in the state. So I can relate to what your going through, just remember hard work does pay off. Good Luck."

Tickertracker said: ""I will be contacting her to run the CR again and see what we qualify for." You'd be better off to just run your own scores, show her, and ask. Obviously, if you like what you hear, she'll have to pull them herself, but otherwise you are just adding unnecessary inquires. "I am just wondering if I am supposed to "shop around" at different mortgage companies? I just want to do the smart thing and make sure I'm getting the best rate." YES! Keep in mind that recent inquiries are not considered in your score, and that multiple inquires for loans of the same type have a much smaller impact than those for different types of credit as long as they are done within ... I believe 45 days is the most recent number. This is the most important purchase of your life, shop around! Bankrate.com is a good place to see who's giving out the lowest rates. Good luck."

MichaelG said: "[QUOTE=Tickertracker]"I will be contacting her to run the CR again and see what we qualify for." You'd be better off to just run your own scores, show her, and ask. Obviously, if you like what you hear, she'll have to pull them herself, but otherwise you are just adding unnecessary inquires. "I am just wondering if I am supposed to "shop around" at different mortgage companies? I just want to do the smart thing and make sure I'm getting the best rate." [COLOR="RoyalBlue"]YES! Keep in mind that recent inquiries are not considered in your score, and that multiple inquires for loans of the same type have a much smaller impact than those for different types of credit as long as they are done within ... I believe 45 days is the most recent number. This is the most important purchase of your life, shop around! Bankrate.com is a good place to see who's giving out the lowest rates.[/COLOR]Good luck.[/QUOTE] I have to respectfully disagree. You do yourself a disservice by jumping from broker shop to broker shop. Once the word gets out that you are a "shopper" you will not be taken seriously and you'll be given low priority. That will result in a mortgage broker moving on to those borrowers they feel are more serious about working together. You only have to look at the inquiry section of the credit report to see where a prospective borrower has been. It's best to stick with one mortgage broker. A good broker has several banks/lenders they work with to tailor a loan program for each borrower's individual needs. Additionally, I've personally seen scores drop over 100 pts due to recent hard-pulls. I've seen loans die while in process due to recent inquiries."

Tickertracker said: "[QUOTE=MichaelG]I have to respectfully disagree. You do yourself a disservice by jumping from broker shop to broker shop. Once the word gets out that you are a "shopper" you will not be taken seriously and you'll be given low priority. That will result in a mortgage broker moving on to those borrowers they feel are more serious about working together. You only have to look at the inquiry section of the credit report to see where a prospective borrower has been. It's best to stick with one mortgage broker. A good broker has several banks/lenders they work with to tailor a loan program for each borrower's individual needs. Additionally, I've personally seen scores drop over 100 pts due to recent hard-pulls. I've seen loans die while in process due to recent inquiries.[/QUOTE] This is good advice if you can find a good broker. My point is, just don't take the first thing that comes along. "Mortgage company" seems kind of ambiguous. That could mean anything from a broker to a direct lender. Going to only one direct lender would most certainly be a bad idea. Going to 20 direct lenders would also be a bad idea, unless you are running an experiment to see how much damage inquiries can do to your credit. About the inquiries, you seem to have more experience with this, but my information regarding recent inquiries is different. I'll have to look at this more closely. Also, how would a loan die in process without the lender pulling the consumer's credit a second time? How many hard pulls did this take? Had the consumers recently shopped for other types of credit?"

MichaelG said: "[QUOTE=Tickertracker]This is good advice if you can find a good broker. My point is, just don't take the first thing that come[COLOR="Blue"]"Mortgage company" seems kind of ambiguous. [/COLOR]That could mean anything from a broker to a direct lender. Going to only one direct lender would most certainly be a bad s along. idea. Going to 20 direct lenders would also be a bad idea, unless you are running an experiment to see how much damage inquiries can do to your credit. About the inquiries, you seem to have more experience with this, but my information regarding recent inquiries is different. I'll have to look at this more closely. Also,[COLOR="Red"] how would a loan die in process without the lender pulling the consumer's credit a second time? [/COLOR][COLOR="SeaGreen"]How many hard pulls did this take? Had the consumers recently shopped for other types of credit[/COLOR]?[/QUOTE] [COLOR="Blue"]I agree, thats why I said mortgage [COLOR="Blue"]BROKER[/COLOR], not company[/COLOR][COLOR="Red"]Most lenders will pull the CR a second time, they don't rely on the broker's CR. That is exactly how it dies....one final credit pull that shows a lower score.[/COLOR] [COLOR="SeaGreen"]Its tough to know precisely how many, but the consumer shopping for other types of credit could have contributed, but in cases I'm aware of, it was too many lenders doing hard pulls[/COLOR]."

Tickertracker said: "[QUOTE=MichaelG][COLOR="Blue"]I agree, thats why I said mortgage [COLOR="Blue"]BROKER[/COLOR][/COLOR].[/QUOTE] Right, was referring to original poster."

considerate7 said: "If anyone is interested I can check rates with my company to see if it can help anybody."

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