Are you looking for a Virginia Mortgage?
When applying for a Virginia Mortgage most people will call up their bank, ask to speak to a loan officer and take today’s advertised interest rate. If this is the extent of your shopping for a great mortgage you are guaranteed to pay as much as possible for your next home loan.
In order save money on your next Virginia Mortgage here are some simple tips that will provide your with several competitive offers to choose from.
Use Multiple Lenders for Your Virginia Mortgage
First make sure that you get quotes from several lenders. Some banks rely on the fact that most people will not comparison shop for a Virginia Mortgage as they do for other retail items such as televisions or cars. Start by choosing your favorite bank and have them send you a written offer or get one online. Next you will want to get a quote from a credit union and a mortgage broker. Your initial search should have least three mortgage quotes, but feel free to get more as needed.
Protect Your Credit
Shopping for a mortgage can affect your credit score if you have too many inquiries. However, credit bureaus have agreed to allow those shopping a grace period of 30 days. These mean that you can have mortgage lenders review your credit. However, if you are aware of your credit score beforehand a good lender can give you an estimate contingent upon your credit meeting the required credit standard for your particular loan.
Use the Good Faith Estimate
Virginia lenders are required by law to provide you a good faith estimate to make mortgage comparison easier. This is a great tool that will allow you to compare mortgage offers. A good faith estimate will have a breakdown of your Virginia mortgage closing costs. Mortgage closing costs include points and fees. Points are attached to the interest rate that you are shopping for. One point is one percent of your loan amount. Additional fees can include title, escrow, appraisal and other costs necessary to close your loan.
Compare Points and Fees for Your Virginia Mortgage
With the mortgage quotes on hand now its time to compare points and fees. First compare points just use the good faith estimate and write down the points for each lender. Second compare the other closing costs or fees that are provided. Now that you have all the fees and interest rates side by side you can see which offer is the lowest overall. Be sure that you are careful to compare the exact interest rate simply because in the mortgage industry a quarter percent interest rate reduction can cost thousands of dollars to obtain. So all rates compared need to be the same. Rates also change daily so in order to be fair to your self and the lenders all quotes should be from the same day.
Negotiate Your Virginia Mortgage
Now its time to negotiate for your best mortgage deal. You always ask if the points can be reduced by 10%-20% from what is quoted. Every lender will have a different response. A large bank that has thousands of applicants may be less likely to budge than a small credit union or mortgage broker. However, this will depend on the actual lender and your results could be the opposite. Now after trying to negotiate fees and points on your quote move forward with the one that you feel will be more flexible and give you the best deal.
Lock In Your Virginia Mortgage
Some lenders will lock you in over the phone on your initial application while others may require for your application to be signed and returned to them prior to locking you in. Once you are locked in to your desired interest rate make sure you are cooperative with your lender and provide any outstanding documentation to get your loan funded and closed.
