Looking to buy a house.....

Finally got myself financially sound, with no more student loans to pay off and no real debt other than 2 Credit cards and a car payment.

Looking for info on getting a Mortgage, better to go through a bank? credit union? 3rd party?

Everyone says it's a buyers market, I'm not looking for anything super fancy.

Just need some advice on what to look for or ask when talking to these people about a loan so I don't get screwed!

Oops Thats not right wrote:Finally got myself financially sound, with no more student loans to pay off and no real debt other than 2 Credit cards and a car payment.

Looking for info on getting a Mortgage, better to go through a bank? credit union? 3rd party?

Everyone says it's a buyers market, I'm not looking for anything super fancy.  

Just need some advice on what to look for or ask when talking to these people about a loan so I don't get screwed!

Where do you live? Down here in Fort Wayne, and the state of Indiana, it's become a sellers market VERY QUICKLY this spring. Might want to get moving.

Mid-Michigan, looking to buy between Flint & Saginaw some where in the country.

Oops Thats not right wrote:Mid-Michigan, looking to buy between Flint & Saginaw some where in the country.

When I bought my house, and then again when I refi'd, I used Mercantile Bank. I went through Quicken and all of the big banks and Mercantile gave me the best rate. It's actually the best of both worlds, as I got great rates, and then they turned around and sold it to a big bank so my ability to make payments, etc. is really easy as you have all of the convenience of a national bank (top end website/app/etc.).

The whole process was really easy too. I would highly recommend them. My point of contact was this woman:

https://hmcnaughton-mercbanklo.mortgagewebcenter.com/

Check with the credit union and then banks as to what they will do for a mortgage. I went with a broker and that was my fault, I still think the guy fucked me over, but it was on a recommendation. If your credit is excellent, don't worry too much about how many times they run your score, it might affect it slightly, but getting multiple quotes is smart.

I Still Hate Weber State wrote:

When I bought my house, and then again when I refi'd, I used Mercantile Bank. I went through Quicken and all of the big banks and Mercantile gave me the best rate. It's actually the best of both worlds, as I got great rates, and then they turned around and sold it to a big bank so my ability to make payments, etc. is really easy as you have all of the convenience of a national bank (top end website/app/etc.).

The whole process was really easy too. I would highly recommend them. My point of contact was this woman:

Thanks!

InTenSity wrote:Check with the credit union and then banks as to what they will do for a mortgage. I went with a broker and that was my fault, I still think the guy fucked me over, but it was on a recommendation. If your credit is excellent, don't worry too much about how many times they run your score, it might affect it slightly, but getting multiple quotes is smart.

When I bought my car 2 years ago credit score was high enough for the lowest financing possible, should be in even better shape now.

Oops, some of the mortgage lenders will scare you, or try to. They will tell you each time they run your credit, it is a hard run and it will affect your score. I had to have my credit run about 8 times over about an 18 month period (most pre approvals are only good for 90 days) I think it jumped around from around 770 to 755. I'm pretty sure that anything over 720 or 740 will get you what you want.

InTenSity wrote:Oops, some of the mortgage lenders will scare you, or try to. They will tell you each time they run your credit, it is a hard run and it will affect your score. I had to have my credit run about 8 times over about an 18 month period (most pre approvals are only good for 90 days) I think it jumped around from around 770 to 755. I'm pretty sure that anything over 720 or 740 will get you what you want.

Thanks! I would have been one of those guys pissed they were messing up my score.

Don't forget to look at all the costs, not just the "rate". The interest rate is one thing, the A.P.R. should include all costs and gives you a somewhat better idea.
Closing costs can vary substantially, typically Mtg Brokers are going to be higher than S&L's. A point is 1% of the loan amount and I usually would not pay points to buy down the interest rate, unless you know you'll be paying it for more than 5 years.

Oops Thats not right wrote:

Thanks!  I would have been one of those guys pissed they were messing up my score.

Don't get me wrong, it will affect your credit, but it isn't going to kill it. Plus you can watch it, because they will give you your score every time they run it. So if you think it is dropping too much, hold off for a couple of months before running it again.

Oops Thats not right wrote:

Thanks!  I would have been one of those guys pissed they were messing up my score.

When I am shopping for a car or looking to buy a house or refi my mortgage, I'll typically pull my own 3 bureau report and provide it to whatever lender I'm considering. They won't be able to utilize this to provide you with a pre-approval or anything, but they can usually tell you with pretty reasonable certainty where your rate will be. Occasionally a loan officer will balk at providing me with an estimated rate based on this, but I just let them know that I won't be allowing anyone to pull my credit unless I have a pretty good sense as to what the deal is going to be. 90% are fine with that, hell most will tell me what the rate is based on a verbal of my score. Those that aren't, don't get my business. That said, I also monitor my credit score with freecreditreport constantly, so I always know what my score is. It wouldn't be a bad idea for you subscribe to one of these services while you are looking for a mortgage, or at least pull your score at least once before. 760 and above pretty much always qualifies you for the best rates, but a score from 660 to 759 will get you a really good rate too. Bankrate.com is a great source for this type of info and it will tell you where ratse are for various mortgage products on a day to day basis.

A mortgage report is a soft pull. No effect on your score whatsoever unless you do more than 3 in a month.

Answer depends on what your doing in terms of down payment et.


In mid michigan, you can get a rural development loan with almost nothing down and low rates.

Pm me if you want a referral in your area.

DroppedByADime wrote:A mortgage report is a soft pull.   No effect on your score whatsoever unless you do more than 3 in a month

If a bank, credit union or mortgage company pulls your credit it is a hard pull and will show up under the inquiries section of the report.

Regarding what someone else wrote above:
Most of the time the score you get online will differ from the score you get from the bank because their mortgage credit report likely uses different scoring models than the one you obtained online. If you have good credit on one you will have good credit on the other.

A credit score is a snapshot so it may jump ten points after the third pull. The score is fluctuating more because your profile is changing. Maybe the Amex bill reported just prior to it being paid off and therefore the utilization ratio has changed.

**** property

"Buyer's market"

Lol. I just listed my property "for sale by owner" at 20% above the "market value" because people are getting insane prices for their homes in my neighborhood. If someone bites, I'm gone.

Get rid of the cc debt first.

Big Ten Referee wrote:"Buyer's market"

Lol. I just listed my property "for sale by owner" at 20% above the "market value" because people are getting insane prices for their homes in my neighborhood. If someone bites, I'm gone.

Sold the house this weekend FSBO. Listed well above appraisal. Bidding war with 2 cash buyers - no inspections, no contingencies.
With the cash it went above asking combined with the agent fees I didn't have to pay I'm almost up 90 grand above the asking price.
Location, location, location.

EdMartinsLoan wrote:

Sold the house this weekend FSBO. Listed well above appraisal. Bidding war with 2 cash buyers - no inspections, no contingencies.
With the cash it went above asking combined with the agent fees I didn't have to pay I'm almost up 90 grand above the asking price.
Location, location, location.

So, where the location?

Oops Thats not right wrote:Mid-Michigan, looking to buy between Flint & Saginaw some where in the country.

I would stay away from Flint and Saginaw, and Sag Nasty is my hometown.

InTenSity wrote:

So, where the location?

Southern Oakland County