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At Twin Pine Mortgages, we understand that buying a house can be a very exciting and stressful process, so, you may be tempted to rush into choosing your mortgage lender in order to speed the process along. However, we urge you to take your time when selecting your mortgage lender and ensure that you are asking the important questions. This is why we have created a list of questions that you should be asking your mortgage lender in order to ensure you are asking the right questions.
Will You Be Sending Documents Electronically?
This may not seem like a very important question, but the mortgage application process is long and produces a lot of paperwork. So you will want to make sure that you will be able to fill the paperwork out, and store it, on your computer, laptop or tablet before you decide on your mortgage lender. It not only stops you from losing paperwork, or odd sheets, but it also speeds up the process as a whole.
Waiting for paperwork to be submitted and reviewed is one of the biggest hold-ups in the mortgage process, which is why a lot of lenders now offer you the option to submit your documents electronically. Trust us when we say, this is definitely something that you will want to ensure you are checking.
Are You Able To Offer Rate Locks?
While the last question may have seemed like a preference, this one is very important. You will need to ensure that you are asking your mortgage lenders whether they offer rate locks and for how long. If you are unsure as to what a rate lock is exactly, we also recommend that you do your homework on the subject, to fully understand them.
For now, however, we’ll give you a brief outline of what it is. A rate lock is exactly what it sounds like, the lender locks in the interest rate that you qualify for at the beginning of your home search. This helps to protect you, as the buyer, as a home search will usually take a lot longer than anticipated, and it’s likely that interest rates will change in this time frame. A rate lock prevents this from happening as your rate will be locked in, leaving you with one less thing to worry about. If you would like to learn more about rate locks, then we recommend looking at this article.
Are There Any Additional Fees?
It will be extremely difficult for you to find a mortgage lender who doesn’t have fees associated with their loan program. Some lenders, for example, have an origination fee, as well as various other fees associated with their program depending on how they operate. Origination fees can be negotiated, however, reducing or avoiding them usually results in you having to pay higher interest rates over the lifespan of your loan, so you will need to know where you stand with them. To learn more about additional fees, we recommend reading this article by Investopedia.
How Many Loan Types Do You Offer?
While some lenders will specialise in a specific type of loan, it’s important that you are asking them about the other types of loans they offer. Lenders with a vast range of loan types are often the best options for home buyers, as they often offer more flexibility and will ensure that you have the best loan choice for you.
It’s important to remember that when it comes to asking your mortgage lender questions, there is no such thing as a bad question. Buying a home is a significant milestone, which can often be quite complicated and stressful, which is why it is so important that you are ensuring you are as informed as possible in order to make your decision.
If you would like any advice on your mortgage application, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch today. Alternatively, for more blogs on the subject of mortgages, feel free to browse our full list of blogs here.