Home Mortgage

Unless you are paying cash for your home or investment, you need a mortgage. This is where talking to a mortgage professional comes in handy. These are the people that give you accurate figures for closing costs, down payment requirements, and mortgage insurance premiums. They are knowledgeable about where interest rates are at and where they are heading. And they will ultimately tell you what price range home you can qualify for.

Right now, with all offers on bank owned homes and short sales, a pre-approval letter is required. To further complicate the matter, any home owned or serviced by Bank of America requires a pre-approval letter from Bank of America in order for the offer to be considered complete and submitted to the seller for review. The same thing goes for Wells Fargo properties. Therefore, the first step is to get a pre-approval letter from both Bank of America and Wells Fargo. You are not required to get a loan through them, but they will offer you competitive rates and fees.

Mortgage brokers differ from banks because they don't work for a specific bank. Rather, they broker out the mortgage to the bank that they feel offers the best rate and terms for their client - you! Typically mortgage broker fees are a little higher, but the idea is to save money by getting a more competitive interest rate.

Listed below are three people whom I have personal experience with. I suggest talking to all of them. If there is a spot for online application, feel free to fill it out. They would prefer a phone call so that they can explain the process better, make sure you are filling out the most current forms, and don't waste any time.