Like all business relationships, the one you will have a loan officer is an adversarial one though I have a tendency to think that most consumers never really come to grips with this fact.
On one hand, you will naturally be interested in securing a mortgage at the lowest possible rate and at the lowest possible cost. Your adversary, the loan officer, will be interested in generating the highest possible commission.
There’s nothing nefarious about this. It’s just a matter of competing interests and if you are to succeed in negotiating terms you need to know how the mortgage game is played. When it comes to shopping lenders and mortgage, it’s different than shopping for any service provider or product because the process is easily overcomplicated by the number available options. Absorbing the information in this guide, you will be able to see clearly through these complexities and, thereby, recognize the bulk of the information you’re provided as nothing more than a meaningless distraction.
So what is it you will learn in reading this blog?
1. You will know not only which mortgage companies to use, but which ones you should avoid and why it’s to your advantage to avoid them.
2. You will know how mortgage companies generate exorbitant undisclosed or under-disclosed profits preying on the ill-informed.
3. You will know which fees you need to control.
4. You will know not only how mortgage rates are priced but how an intimate knowledge of mortgage pricing will help you secure the best available rate at the lowest possible cost.
5. You will also learn why the Good Faith Estimate you are provided at application isn't worth the paper it's printed on.
6. You will know how a mortgage broker’s initial and final Good Faith Estimates function just like lie detector printouts. Knowing how to interpret them, you can guarantee the broker is delivering a mortgage at the lowest rate and cost.
7. You will know that while a lender may require you to pay a discount fee, it NEVER makes sense to pay a discount fee to lower your monthly payment.
8. You will know how to minimize out-of-pocket expenses.
9. You will know how to use your final Good Faith Estimate to confirm that the loan officer is delivering the lowest available rate at the promised cost.
