Mortgage Pre-approval

[dongky]

First-time homebuyer here
I'm about to tackle one of the hardest decisions of my life, so before i go shopping for the best rate, i have a few questions to ask you guys...

Do you go to a mortgage broker for pre-qualification to get a quote first then move on to the second broker and so on, or do you have to get pre-qualified & pre-approved at the same time in order to get a quote?

I'm asking this question because i'm not sure if I can still shop for other rates once I get the pre-approval from a certain lender(through broker). And do you get charged $$$ if you dump the lender who pre-approved you with the higher rates?

Thanks :beer:

 

[dirtboy]

The reason you're going to a broker is to get the best rates to begin with. If you go to a big bank, you'll get whatever they are selling. If you're worried about it, find a reputable broker first. Rates are largely determined by your credit score, income, amount financed, downpayment and the type of loan. You shouldn't see a significant difference between brokers. Places often advertise low rates, but you may or may not be able to qualify for them, so keep that in mind. Having 6 or 8 brokers run your credit won't help you either.

If a broker is good, they won't give you a rate estimate until they've looked over your credit, etc. Besides, the rates will likely change some by the time you actually close on your house anyways...

A pre-approval means very little. You'll need one to get things started on a new house; not sure about resale.

A pre-qual means everything. This will tell you exactly what your limit it and supercedes a pre-approval.

Once you start the loan process, you don't want to move around too much. Like I said, your rate will be determined by many factors which may change by the time you close.

If you think you're going to go down there and lock in say 5.75% and then go shopping, then you're mistaken. That is not how things work.

 

[josphII]

dongky,

what state do you live in?

 

[Murphyrulez]

goto www.lendingtree.com. see what kind of rates you get back... I used them the past two times I have refinanced.

 

[dongky]

Thanks for the replies...

josphII, I'm in California.

Btw, dirtboy you got these 2 mixed up

A pre-approval means very little. You'll need one to get things started on a new house; not sure about resale.

A pre-qual means everything. This will tell you exactly what your limit it and supercedes a pre-approval.


I'm about to try www.nationwideadvantage.com...or maybe not.
Any suggestions?

 

[Xede]

I found Bank Rate to be pretty useful in shopping for a good rate a couple months ago. We got in touch with a broker initially and would have preferred to have worked with him since he was local, but the best deal from him would have cost more down AND had a higher interest rate than the best deal we found on our own.

BankRate is good for finding the lowest rate, but I found it really hard to actually pin down any of the companies to give the rate they quote on Bank Rate--it always wound up a little bit higher. Add on about an eighth or a quarter to all the rates you see there.

When you get pre-approved you can lock in a rate for a certain amount of time, but you usually have to put down a deposit. If you decide not to buy or you go through another lender you'll lose your deposit. I don't know if your broker will charge you anything if you get a pre-approval through him and then switch--I don't think they do that. I think changing your mind will only cost you once you've actually put down money to lock in a rate.

We pretty much skipped the pre-qual altogether and didn't do the pre-approval until right at the end, when we were ready to make an offer.

 

[dirtboy]

Originally posted by: dongky
Thanks for the replies...

josphII, I'm in California.

Btw, dirtboy you got these 2 mixed up

A pre-approval means very little. You'll need one to get things started on a new house; not sure about resale.

A pre-qual means everything. This will tell you exactly what your limit it and supercedes a pre-approval.


I'm about to try www.nationwideadvantage.com...or maybe not.
Any suggestions?

ermm...my bad.