When personally looking online to view the most frequently asked questions to mortgage originators, it was apparent that homeowners want to seem knowledgeable.
In my opinion, a true mortgage professional will be able to ask the right questions and provide you with a custom loan scenario showing you easy to read options for you to choose from. However, I found no one who provided questions you should ask before deciding on whom you wish to work with.
Plan to take 10-15 minutes for each person you call. You should call a minimum of one bank/credit union, one mortgage broker, and one mortgage lender.
Have your “monthly mortgage balance statement” (Refinance) or “a property of interest’s full address” (Purchase) available when you call about a mortgage loan.
You should be able to get exact closing cost and their best interest rate in writing to you.
Grade from a level of 1-10 (10 being the best) the following:
1 Accessibility to reach them on the first call.
2 Response time to get you a loan scenario to review.
3 If you left them a voicemail, did they call you back within a reasonable time?
Questions to ask:
1 How long have you been in the mortgage business?
2 What exactly do you need to receive before you can lock in an interest rate for me?
3 For how many days will the interest rate quoted be locked in? (The answer should be 30 or 60 days.)
4 If the loan does not close within the lock period for any reason, what is the penalty? What are my options?
5 Why did you choose the lock period you selected? What are the advantages for selecting that?
6 How are you determining my current property value?
7 What title company do you use? Can I select my own title company? If not, why?
8 What upfront cost do you need from me before closing?
9 Can I have your cell phone number if I have any future questions?
Keep a look out for:
1 When they send you a quote via email, see if the information was electronically locked for security reasons. You should have
to input a code to unlock the attachment.
2 Look at the estimated payoff and the new loan amount. Who is offering the better loan structure? If you do not need cash
out, you want to bring one (1) payment to closing instead of skipping a mortgage payment, and funds to fill your new escrow
account. In 2-3 weeks you get your old escrow funds back. The last thing you want to do is to lose equity in your home by
being so focused on the monthly savings. You can get the best of both.
Written by,
Todd LaBorwit – President
NMLS# 131497