Pulling the trigger on mortgage app -- do's and don'ts

[mwm1212]

So I'll start by saying the forums have been INFINITELY informative and helpful, thank you all in advance. So the time is here to actually pull credit, get pre-approved and house shop. I have a few questions and was hoping to get some clarification as this is my wife and I's first home buying experience.

We have been working with a mortgage broker, who I have met in person, provided all pertinent tax and bank account information, etc. He has been very helpful and answered a lot of newbie questions. Once we pull our credit should we still have other lenders pull at the same time to "rate shop" even though we have worked with the broker almost exclusively up to this point? I have gotten pre-qual from other lenders with slightly better rates, but this may be a "just get you in the door approach" since those quotes seem to be given very loosely. Also, I want to obviously secure the best deal, but don't want to screw somebody over who I have been working with. I guess I'm not sure if that's ethical or not. We have not paid anyone a .01 yet, but I want to make sure we handle this in a professional way while keeping our best interests in mind. Any experiences or suggestions are sincerely appreciated.

Cheers!

[ShanetheMortgageMan]

It never hurts to compare, there is a 30 day window (starting with the initial credit check) where you can have your credit checked and supposedly you won't lose any more points than what the first inquiry did to you.  If the difference is .125% in rate or a few hundred bucks I'd stick with who has helped you & answered all of your questions.

[ezdriver]

Are you planning to buy and existing home or new construction from a builder? The timeline for the former can be as little as three weeks while the later can be 5+ months from signing a purchase agreement. Rates matter when you are ready to lock one ... not before. Focus on learning about the different types of mortgage products that are available to you and related fees/charges. When you have a property in mind, your will need to have a strong preapproval to submit with your offer. Mortgage brokers cannot give you that but they can give you a preapproval from one of their lenders. The preapproval would reauire that the lender be identified and any conditions be noted.

[mwm1212]

We will be purchasing an existing home. I do remember hearing that the rate is not locked in until you have an actual house on contract. Is credit pulled again when you go to lock a rate or just for the pre-approval? After tons of reading I still can't keep the steps and process all straight!

[mwm1212]

Thanks for the comparison Shane. That seems very reasonable.

[ShanetheMortgageMan]

---

@mwm1212 wrote:

We will be purchasing an existing home. I do remember hearing that the rate is not locked in until you have an actual house on contract. Is credit pulled again when you go to lock a rate or just for the pre-approval? After tons of reading I still can't keep the steps and process all straight!

---

Correct, need to have an accepted contract.  Theoretically it is possible to lock without a contract, and just an address, but most lenders are unwilling to do that.  Credit is only re-checked after your credit report expires, which would be 90 days on existing construction (vs. new construction).  It's also re-checked just prior to closing, but just to confirm no new debt has been taken out and if payments increase then the new payments are used for your DTI calculation.

[mwm1212]

Thanks Shane. So a quick update we made and had an offer accepted. The pre-approval is also good to go with the lender I've been working with. The rate we can lock would be 4.5 with no lender assist or 4.875 with lender paying PMI costs (conventional loan, 5-7% down). I'll have hard copies of paperwork tomorrow to sign and return. Does all of the above seem reasonable?

[ShanetheMortgageMan]

Yup, definitely.

[DallasLoanGuy]

you've done a good job

[mwm1212]

Can't thank you guys enough for the help and advice.