Seeking lender recommendations, California, excellent credit

Incumbent · Joined: 17 Oct 2007 Posts: 2

I wonder if anyone can recommend any lenders who could give the best overall deal to someone in my situation. Specifics:

First-time home buyer looking to buy in the next 60 days
State: California (San Diego)
Loan amount: approx $200,000
Property Type: Condo
FICO Score: 805 (20-year credit history)
Down payment: 10%-15%
Annual salary: $45,000
Total debt: Less than $1,000

I am looking for a 30-year fixed rate loan and am really baffled where to start looking for a loan. Should I use a broker or a direct lender? Should I use a major bank like B of A, or should I go with a smaller, local company? Is it kosher to go to 10 different lenders and ask them for their good faith estimates? If not, how can I be sure I'm getting the best deal I can? (I've worked really hard at earning my excellent credit score, and now I feel it's time for it to pay off. I don't want to accept a deal and find out I could have gotten a better one.)

Any helpful suggestions or referrals will be most appreciated! (P.S.-I'm feeling very vulnerable and anxious about the whole process, so please be gentle! :oops: )

Haplo · Joined: 20 Jan 2005 Posts: 2422 Location: Springfield, IL

Yes you can certainly go to 10 different lenders and get 10 different estimates, but chances are good that the 'best deal' isn't always the best circumstances.

Basically, you should interview the people you want to work with, and understand that sometimes working with someone that you're comfortable with doesn't mean getting the cheapest bottom of the barrel deal out there.

More than likely this is a piece of cake deal that just about anyone would be able to do for you, so I would start asking for referrals from friends/family that have purchased a home recently for a contact to an individual. Not all companies are equal, but their sales people are even more vastly different.

jrhartman · Joined: 01 Apr 2007 Posts: 107 Location: Michigan

Haplo wrote: Yes you can certainly go to 10 different lenders and get 10 different estimates, but chances are good that the 'best deal' isn't always the best circumstances.

Basically, you should interview the people you want to work with, and understand that sometimes working with someone that you're comfortable with doesn't mean getting the cheapest bottom of the barrel deal out there.

More than likely this is a piece of cake deal that just about anyone would be able to do for you, so I would start asking for referrals from friends/family that have purchased a home recently for a contact to an individual. Not all companies are equal, but their sales people are even more vastly different.

^^^^^
Very very good advice. You do have an excellent credit score and you should be looking to reward yourself with an excellent loan company with excellent service to accompany a competive interest rate not just trying to find the company that will throw you the lowest low ball offer initially to get you on board.

Shopping interest rates without having a signed purchase agreement is like shopping for gas without having a car to put it in. All you will be doing is wasting your time because an interest rate cannot be locked in until there is a property for it to be matched with. You have good credit and your loan will get approved, you should be shopping for the best individual/company to take care of you at this point. I personally would recommend the larger direct lenders as opposed to the mortgage broker. Brokers are just the middle man in the transaction and are more commonly the ones that "take people for rides" when it comes to mortgages.

Best of luck to you

uptight mortgage guy · Joined: 23 Nov 2007 Posts: 30 Location: WV

Absolutely as Haplo stated, your score is so high, rate should not be an issue. It is the service requirement you really should consider.

Talk to family and friends. Also, I suggest making a request to a a couple Direct lenders AND mortgage brokers. All will come back with very close rates. You really want to watch for " Who gets back to you " " Who makes you feel the most comfortable "

Remember, you are the customer. The second poster is not correct on not considering brokers. They sometimes have better deals and should be given the opportunity to compete for your business.

JasShapiro · Joined: 10 Nov 2007 Posts: 11 Location: El Dorado Hills, Ca

With a 20 year credit history and scores in the 800's you might want to find a good broker. The main reason is that the banks typically have products geared for the masses (some give a small credit to scores over 740,780, etc) but there are some brokers that have relationships with banks that only issue 'high' A Paper funding. The low risk models of their borrowers allow them to be more aggressive with their pricing. You may also find this to be true with some credit unions and other lenders that retain their loans.

I've found that many borrowers have fear of obtaining their financing to find they could've done better. My best advice is to find a couple of loan officers you feel you can trust, bankers or brokers, have them send their most competitive Good Faith Estimates on the same day for comparing 'apples to apples' and stick with the loan officer that gives you the better deal. Once you lock a rate get rates out of your head. You need to let it go and trust you made the right decision.

More importantly make sure you can handle the new costs of home-ownership. $1,000 in monthly debt plus your full monthly expenses on a condo in CA will be in the neighborhood of $1,450 for Principal/Interest/Taxes(est. $170k loan amount, 6% int) HOA(est. ~$200/mo). Your $45k/yr, or $3,750/mo. puts you at a 65%debt-to-income ratio. You may want to consider putting a little less down and depending on what you have for consumer debt possibly reducing it.

Bottom line, because of the great job you've done with your credit we would have you approved with what is known as an A+ Accept which would require very little documentation and your DTI ratio wouldn't matter to us but it should matter to you.

Jason Shapiro