I recently heard an ad on the radio where they were pretending to have a loan shopper calling a bunch of lenders asking the same question:  "What's Your Interest Rate"?  "What's Your Interest Rate"?  "What's Your Interest Rate"? 

That's not how you compare home loan rates.  You can call around to get a general idea but, when it comes to actually doing a true comparison, you need to contact several lending institutions (bank, mortgage brokers, whatever) and ask for a "Go0d Faith Estimate" on a specific property at a specific price.   The Good Faith Estimate will outline every single cost including the loan origination fees, and identify the cash required to close.  This will all determine an APR (Annual Percentage Rate) on the loan.  This is the only way to do a true comparison on lenders... to have a specific house at a specific price.  The other factor in getting an accurate Good Faith Estimate is for the lender to know what your credit rating is.  This will determine which loan programs you will qualify for and will affect the ultimate cost of borrowing the money.    Depending on closing costs, it is mathematically possible for you to pay a higher "rate", but the overall cost of the loan is lower than one with a lower rate and closing higher costs.   

If you have questions or would like to discuss a specific scenario, contact me today:
Carol@TopPropertiesWenatchee.com