Author Topic: Best way to get mortgage quotes  (Read 2790 times)

BostonBrit

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 63
Best way to get mortgage quotes
« on: January 31, 2020, 01:18:18 PM »
Can anyone recommend the best way to get actual mortgage quotes (rather than just generic rates)?

It seems with such a fragmented market it's really difficult to get specific quotes.

Is it best to use a mortgage broker at all? Any recommendations?

I'm just looking at potentially refinancing a primary residence and it seems to be a bit of a mind field.

Thanks

SimpleCycle

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1259
  • Location: Chicago
Re: Best way to get mortgage quotes
« Reply #1 on: January 31, 2020, 08:15:58 PM »
We used bankrate and then had to contact the actual lenders for firm quotes.  We found the best rate at a local bank and they have been awesome to work with.  Our actual rate was the same as the bankrate advertised rate.

Under no circumstances should you use Lending Tree, they give your phone number to companies and you get a million calls and it's the worst.

Kayad

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 94
Re: Best way to get mortgage quotes
« Reply #2 on: February 01, 2020, 07:23:33 PM »
If you know your approximate credit score, you could call local banks and credit unions and ask them what their refinance rate is for someone with x credit.

MMM reps Credible, which aggregates offers from a bunch of different lenders..  I think it entails a soft credit pull, supposedly they don't sell your contact info.

Costco also has a refi/mortgage program that looks like a decent option.

My last refi was with a sketchy internet company, Cardinal Financial.  They were a bit fly by night, but cheaper (rates and fees) than any local company I could find, and then they just sell it to Fannie/Freddie like everyone else anyways.

Goldy

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 284
Re: Best way to get mortgage quotes
« Reply #3 on: February 02, 2020, 04:56:29 AM »
The best I have seen so far is Aimloan.com because they seem to be upfront with all costs, have the lowest rates I can ever find, and don’t ask for any personal information to get a quote.  They also provide a chart that shows the rate as you add or remove points so you can easily see what your loan would be if you didn’t want closing costs or were trying to hit a certain rate.

Honorable mention goes to Zillow for their rate shopping retire where you can compare a number of rates without entering personal info.  Once you find one you like then you need to contact that company.

TheAnonOne

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1753
Re: Best way to get mortgage quotes
« Reply #4 on: February 02, 2020, 08:24:26 PM »
I've found that even when you get rate quotes do your best to get a few options from EACH bank.

Some may give you 3.25 or 3.375 but one bank might charge $1500 for the 3.25 and another might do it for nothing.

I get that this is because you need to find the 'par' rate but having JUST DONE THIS a few weeks ago. I had to take some time with each bank and get the array of options.

Lucky13

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 131
  • Age: 48
  • Location: Seattle, WA
Re: Best way to get mortgage quotes
« Reply #5 on: February 02, 2020, 08:31:44 PM »
Unfortunately you may need to fill out the loan application before you can get an actual quote, but the good new is that after you do it once (collected all the documentation, like past 2 months paystubs and bank account statements, etc) it's easier to do it again for other lenders. If this is a refi, be sure to ask your current loan holder if they want to retain your loan by giving you a great rate. :D

BostonBrit

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 63
Re: Best way to get mortgage quotes
« Reply #6 on: February 06, 2020, 11:38:13 AM »
The best I have seen so far is Aimloan.com because they seem to be upfront with all costs, have the lowest rates I can ever find, and don’t ask for any personal information to get a quote.  They also provide a chart that shows the rate as you add or remove points so you can easily see what your loan would be if you didn’t want closing costs or were trying to hit a certain rate.

Honorable mention goes to Zillow for their rate shopping retire where you can compare a number of rates without entering personal info.  Once you find one you like then you need to contact that company.

Thanks for this - just gave it a check and even compared to my current 7/1 ARM (3 years in), the rate quoted is 3.5% vs our current 2.85%. This is despite 10 and 30 year rates being 40bps lower.




SimpleCycle

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1259
  • Location: Chicago
Re: Best way to get mortgage quotes
« Reply #7 on: February 06, 2020, 01:01:28 PM »
The best I have seen so far is Aimloan.com because they seem to be upfront with all costs, have the lowest rates I can ever find, and don’t ask for any personal information to get a quote.  They also provide a chart that shows the rate as you add or remove points so you can easily see what your loan would be if you didn’t want closing costs or were trying to hit a certain rate.

Honorable mention goes to Zillow for their rate shopping retire where you can compare a number of rates without entering personal info.  Once you find one you like then you need to contact that company.

Thanks for this - just gave it a check and even compared to my current 7/1 ARM (3 years in), the rate quoted is 3.5% vs our current 2.85%. This is despite 10 and 30 year rates being 40bps lower.

You won't get better than that ARM rate, especially if that was a purchase rather than a refi.  That's a really low rate!  I think the question is just when to get into a fixed considering that rates are near historical lows.

Mrs Brightside

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 89
  • Location: a Cinnabon in Omaha
  • What one fool can do, another can.
Re: Best way to get mortgage quotes
« Reply #8 on: February 06, 2020, 02:27:29 PM »
If you’re near Boston like your name suggests: Leader Bank had the best rates on fixed mortgages, you might want to check them out. We ended up going with a broker because he had the same rate and was more helpful/responsive.