Yeah, I have one more real estate question. What can I say, I trust you guys!
We're in the process of thinking about a house purchase, and we want to have preapproval so that a) we know what kind of loan we are likely to get; and b) so that if we see an opportunity we can act.
But I seem to have a serious resistance to tackling this process... I have somehow gotten the impression that these brokers are equivalent to car salesmen, and I don't want to have anything to do with them! This has been going on for a month; I have a list of brokers/banks I need to call, but I'm afraid they are going spout out a lot of B.S. that I don't understand. So I am wondering what you all would say are the key things to look out for in choosing a broker.
Is it just an arithmetic decision - a matter of rates, points, and fees? Or are there hidden fees?
Does it matter whether I know how the broker is getting paid?
What are the basic questions you would ask to make sure you are getting all the information you need?
If you have any tips on books to check out, that would be great too. I've read a few general home buying books but they sort of gloss over the pre-approval process in a paragraph, and I want more info. Thanks!