So, if you build or buy your house with a specific builder of course they want you to go with their mortgage company. They offer all kinds of incentives to get you go through their lender. But when it comes down to it.. is it better to shop around and lose the incentives.. or go with the builders lender? Doesnt it pretty much even out if you go with someone else? Thoughts? Advice?

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~~Ember~~
Mommy to Bailey 10/02, Brooke 9/04, & DJ 6/06

Ember PLEASE do shop around. As long as you do them all in a 3 month window it will only hit your credit report 1 time. It can only help you! They each may pull a different one and in that case you can know more than just 1 score. The first time we bought we didn't know about looking around and the second time we did 5 people (who looked into several options and so we had people competing for our loan (although I'm not quite convinced on lending tree due to their fine print and my friend was a loan processor whom went through our first and second set of paper work and with the first one ended up with over $1600 in junk fees vs. $100 in the second) Also you can preview the loan agreement 24 hrs before closing (that way you don't have to thoroughly go through it "at the table".) One of her clients had several fees and refused to sign for different ones UNTIL they were taken out and within 1 hr they agreed to dump the junk fees! So watch your back. You have to stand up for you because no one else will!

Our builder's mtg. company played all kinds of games w/us and wouldn't even give us yes or no on approval. They finally gave us an answer ONE WEEK before closing on a house that took 6 months to build. The rate and fees were higher than we had already found on our own after getting yanked around by them. Outside companies were actually MUCH easier to deal with, too. Treat them like any other mortgage company and just weigh everything. I could just imagine how much we saved by shopping around, not counting the peace of mind we had that we were already approved and the thrill it was to tell them WE were pulling our application after all the games they played. I do know we saved literally thousands over time, but never quantified it. They also tried to put all kinds of junk fees in...they thought they had us over a barrel, which is funny, considering although it was our first home, the builder builds what is normally known as move up homes, not starter homes.

So, young lady, your intuition is rightfully kicking in again.

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Shop it everywhere - if you find a better deal get it in writing and show it to your original lender. We did that and got an even better deal on our first rental property.

Thanks!!! I'm gonna talk to dh about this. It's driving us insane. We want a prime loan. But are being told that our credit (by the builders lender) is 11 points too low. GRR! We've worked REALLY hard to get our credit in good standing. Now its almost D day and we're starting to lose hope a little. We're afraid that if we go with someone else and we lose all the incentives (which is basically $2000 and they pay the title.. not sure what else) that its just gonna be more hassle than its worth...

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~~Ember~~
Mommy to Bailey 10/02, Brooke 9/04, & DJ 6/06

Thanks girls.. I read everyones replies to dh. We're getting some confidence back. Sounds like we, too, are getting the runaround from the builders lender. I mean... they ran our credit today.. and told us that they would have to call back either tomorrow or Monday to give us the rates. Then dh called Texas Lending (a different lender) and they said thats crap that FTX cant give us the rate right now. So I dont know...
Thoughts?

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~~Ember~~
Mommy to Bailey 10/02, Brooke 9/04, & DJ 6/06

It's because you're probably working with a "processor" or salesperson without power, who has to consult with the underwriters who sit in an ivory tower. Other mortgage companies empower their people. Different companies have different tolerance levels for credit. Also, some may require you to pay to lock the rate in, others will tell you you can't lock, others will charge nothing to lock. Do shop. It is a lot of work.

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Definitely shop around! And let the builders know you are doing so. We ended up using our builders mortgage only because we shopped around and then told the builders we found a better deal. They lowered their rate and paid closing costs so it ended up being better in the long run for us. But, it is likely you can find a much better rate elsewhere. Good luck!

Ember,
I work in the mortgage industry, and please please please shop around. Also, there are TONS of little things about mortgages and closing costs that are negotiable, so don't feel that you might be "loosing" something.

PM if you want more details.

Disclaimer: I don't originate mortgages, I am an accountant that just happened to work for a mortgage company and leaving in one month (I am being laid off). Mortgage industry is going through major problems and it should be easier, not harder to get one now.

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Lena

PLEASE SHOP AROUND!!!! Ember, even with bad credit, as far as you have come...you can get a decent rate!! There are so many mortgage companies out there and so much that each one can do or can do differently. And there is no harm is doign the shopping and letting your builder's mtg company know you are doing so, they may bounce back with a different tune (they can match an interest rate, or pay closing costs, etc).

When they pull your credit make sure they are pulling from all 3 bureaus and using your middle score (if you already know what your score is, call up some mortgage companies and ask what they can do for you with that score, andthat you need X amount of a mortgage with X amount of a down payment).

Good luck! And DO NOT get discouraged!!!!

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