Not very many of us can pay all cash to purchase our home. Most of us will have to apply for a mortgage to buy our dream home. The mortgage lending industry is a very competitive field even more so with all the recent mortgage rule changes. The bottom line is that mortgage loan officers are still sales people and their main job is to convince you as the consumer to apply with them for a mortgage.

Never be afraid to walk away from a transaction you are not comfortable with or you dread working with the loan officer.

I have been working as a Real Estate Broker now for over 15+ years and after the worst experience with a recent mortgage transaction due to the mortgage company, here are some Ideas to get you started;

• Don’t take the first person that comes in your door.
• Ask someone close to you that has recently closed on a mortgage and find out if they could recommend their lender they have been working with.
• Speak with your financial adviser, accountant, attorney or your REALTOR to help you with a short list of lender referrals.  These people deal with mortgage lenders on a regular basis and can help you filter through the massive amount of information.
• Interview several loan originators and ask them about their experience, time in business, companies they worked for and how long they worked for each company.
• Ask the loan originator for up to 5 referrals to call.
• Call the referrals the mortgage originator gave you !!!

You also can search the internet.

Keep in mind advertising is shiny and you need to pull the curtain back to find the information that is important to a mortgage application like:

• fees,
• lock-in periods
• points and
• qualification requirements

Everybody you speak with will sound like they have the best deal in town. Make sure you ask and receive the Good Faith Estimates (GFE) and Truth-In-Lending (TIL) statements. This way you have everything in black and white and in writing.

No matter who you work with, your mortgage loan will go through the same process. It will be originated, processed, approved and closed by individuals who work for institutions/companies who use software and other platforms that allow them to do their job.

In many states the loan officer now has to be licensed. You as a consumer have every right to check the person or company to make sure they are truly licensed in your state to do business through the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System & Registry or Nationwide Multistate Licensing System

Last but not the least it is also important to know the difference between mortgage qualification and mortgage approval.