2 urgent Pre-Approval questions

[Anonymous]

I recently used the bankrate.com mortgage rates search tool to give me an idea of which lenders have the best rate more or less.

1. Most of my search results are populated by companies I never heard of. Additionally some of them have exactly the same looking website even, For example HomePlus mortgage and ConsumerDirect. Now that I checked a couple others, almost all of them have the same landing page! Is that normal? Are those real companies?

2. I need my preapproval FAST. Should I preapprove with company I'm pretty sure I'm gonna get the best rate with or just go with whichever I think will get me my initial preapproal the fastest? If the latter then please give me some suggestions about which can give me a preapproval FAST.

[Anonymous]

I am not sure about the bankrate lenders.  We actually used a preapproval from NFM Lending in our search.  We had a preapproval letter in a matter of hours.  We spoke with a loan officer there, he ran our credit, and then had us upload our w-2's and pay check stubs. We ultimately went with Navy Federal for our mortgage but NFM Lending was a close second.

[Anonymous]

I would stick with a lender that you have a recommendation for. Internet lenders sometimes give approval letters for loans they cannot even do. I rescue these deals all the time. The process should take less than an hour so there is no reason you cannot get this done fast. Good Luck!

[Anonymous]

COntact a reputable and experienced realtor and then ask them for a mortgage company that they trust. We did that and we were so happy with the lender and being local, the closing fees were low. 

[kjade1030]

Agree with above...never just go for lower rate online....Quicken is notorious for giving preapproval letters for loans they can't do.  In my area (Maryland) realtors are starting to throw out offers with Quicken letters because they've gotten burned so much.  I get passed over by rate shoppers in favor of Quicken sometimes only for them to come back a week before closing for a super stressful week of trying to do 30 days of work in 7 days.  Think of it this way......if they can't do the loan, the rate they are offering is irrelevant.  Talk to friends and family, see who they used, or ask your realtor.  Or if you're in MD/VA/DC/WV call me.    Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Blamu2, what state are you trying to buy in?