When it comes time to shopping for a mortgage, I would strongly encourage you to start with a local and trusted lender. – Jonathan Fox – Washington Post

You can’t get any clearer than that. Big business, large corporations, and big banks have been selling and buying mortgages for decades but when it comes to the individual homebuyer, going local, and going personal is always best.

It’s surprising how little value many homeowners, especially first-time homeowners, put into shopping around for the best home loan. They should be just as careful about this process as they are the home itself. However, many people simply go with whomever the real estate agent suggested or the local bank. While this might work out just fine, you can really benefit from shopping around for the best loan, the best rate, and the best terms. These really do change and you want to make sure that the lender knows you are shopping around. People get competitive when they know that they have others to compete against.

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Terms, interest rates, and details of a mortgage loan are not always set in stone. You would be surprised at what you can actually negotiate with. Everything is important when it comes to dealing with contracts including inspections, timelines, and of course, who you are dealing with.

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Mortgages in today’s society are getting easier but we still need to be cautious about applying for the right home loan and only applying for a mortgage we can actually afford. In order to avoid a housing bubble burst, living within our means is really the key to maintaining our home and living comfortably with the mortgage we have.

Large banks, credit unions, and even hometown banks can be a great partner in managing basic financial details such as your checking and savings accounts or even credit cards. But when it comes to borrowing money for a large purchase such as a house, finding a mortgage officer the deal specifically with this type of loan is essential to getting the best rate.

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Competitiveness also plays a big factor in getting the right loan for your needs. Shop around to a couple of different loan officers or mortgage brokers as well as your own bank or credit union. Find out what terms you can expect and different programs that different mortgage brokers can provide. Housing markets are competitive so lender should be as well.

Terms and prices are not the only factors when it comes to choosing the right lender. Large banks that have multiple mortgage officers can tend to bog down the system, extending out timelines and deadlines that could cost you your home. Individual and private mortgage lenders and personal loan officers have more invested in the game, so they are more likely to pay attention to timelines and get things done in a timely fashion.

It’s Okay to shop around. Don’t worry about your credit getting hit. Having the loan officer run the numbers for you and then offer you the best plan and wait for your needs is essential to getting the right loan and saving you as much money as possible.

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Feel free to give me a call as I have a lot of mortgage lenders in the Bay area and the Tri-Valley area that might work for you. Remember, shop around to get the best loan and the best deal for your needs.