How to Get the Best Deal on Atlanta Home Mortgage Loans

Here's my advice in a nutshell. Shop on the Internet and then use a local lender you can trust who can also match those rates.

When shopping for an Atlanta home mortgage loan, make sure you get a lender's "good faith estimate" detailing all of the closing costs.  Make sure you know how long the rate lock period is for. Get it in writing.  I would also want to know if the underwriters are in house or whether the loan will be brokered out.

Steps to Getting a Great Mortgage

1. Get a copy of your credit report. 

In Georgia, you can get a free copy of your credit report directly from each of the three credit agencies twice per year.  

Experian

Equifax

Transunion

Usually it's just a lot easier having a lender do a free credit report for you.  Just have one lender run your report and supply you with a copy.  The lender will also be able to translate the data and tell you what it all means.  Lenders pull credit reports all the time and usually don't charge you upfront. 

2.  Get a quote from an online lender.  This will give you a good foundation to make comparisons with.  Make sure you compare apples with apples. Make sure lock periods, credit score assumptions and impounds are all comparable.  I've tried Lending Tree and they give you four quotes that are very difficult to figure out and compare. Instead,  E-loan seems to make it very easy and straight forward.  E-loan claims no lender fees but they make up for it in the discount points they charge.   Click below and apply online.  There's no obligation until you are ready to lock in.

Or check out this service.  Fill out the form and you'll get four quotes.  This at least will give you a good starting point for negotiations. 

3.  Call a local lender who was recommended to you by someone you trust.  A good loan advisor is such a great value.  They can make sense out of all the various programs and advise you on what's best for you.  When they see that you have all of your financial documents in order and you have been shopping around, they will most likely give you their most competitive rates from the get go. 

After you have shopped around, I highly recommend that you call Craig Bland  with Countrywide Home Loans. He can usually beat any rate you might have found.  You get the best of both worlds.  Working with a real person here in Atlanta with a company that is large enough to provide any type of loan that is out there.  They are direct underwriters which makes getting approved very quick and easy.
 

	Craig Bland 678-957-7244 cell  678-234-0545  fax 678-417-5330
	Go to Craig's website

Craig can perform miracles sometimes.  Read about how he was able to take an application at 5pm and have it ready to close by 10am the next day.

Craig not only has the most competitive rates, he walks you through all the numbers and explains to you all of your options.  He'll come to your office to take your application and  he even attends the closing to make sure that any last minute details can be dealt with immediately. 

I don't get anything by recommending Craig except the knowledge that I can trust him to give my clients great service.  If you go with a random lender, you end up just being another number.  If they mess up your loan, you are just one of many other loans they have in process.  With Craig, if you mention my name, he knows that if he doesn't perform, it just isn't your loan he's losing but all of the future referrals I might send his way.  

I've seen many clients get suckered in with all of the claims of "no closing costs" or some really low ball rates.  I will admit, I'm always on the look out for the best deals and often get drawn in by some amazing offer.  But when I finally get someone on the phone or get a good faith estimate statement, it always seems like the seductive rates always seem to slip away.  All of those things are just hooks to get you in the door.  Then when you finally see all of the details, it's usually not any better than what a local lender with full service can provide.  

If you get a really low rate, make sure your "lock in" is in writing.  Some shady  loan officer might be speculating that by the time of your closing the rates will have gone down and he'll be able to honor those low rates.  If the rates go up before closing, the lender will find some sort of technical detail to deny you the loan, not a nice thing to have happen when you have everything all set up for the big move.  If the lender is out of town you'll never get them on the telephone.  They won't care.  You are just one of many loans.

Don't get fooled about someone offering no closing costs.  There is no such thing as a free lunch.  Banks have employees that must get paid.  There are definitely costs involved in originating a new loan.  They either can be itemized so you know exactly what you are being charged for or they can be hidden by being incorporated into the loan rate or points.  You might get "no closing costs" but you'll be paying a higher interest rate or more points.  

If you do happen to find a lender who really can offer some really low rates with really low closing costs, be prepared for really little service.  You'll place a call and will get a different person every time who really doesn't care if your loan closes on time or not.  They get paid by the hour, not by the sale.  That's if you're lucky enough to get someone at all.  Most likely you'll get a computerized answering system that will walk you through a series of confusing choices and leave you swearing at the phone.  You get what you pay for.

Everyone's risk tolerance is different.  If I were just refinancing my mortgage to get a better rate I might take a chance with an unknown lender with little service.  If it didn't close it wouldn't mess up my life. 

But if I were selling my home and moving to another home and had things packed and movers coming at a specific time, I sure wouldn't want to take a chance on my loan not closing.  No amount of savings would cover the stress and the hassle of a delayed closing.

Whatever lender you choose, it really helps to get the loan process going early on in your home search.  That way, when you find a great home, you'll be in a powerful negotiating position by being pre-approved.  

So get pre-approved and then call us when you're ready to go find the home of your dreams.

Sincerely,

Tim Maitski
RE/MAX Greater Atlanta

404-845-0265
cell 404-216-0472

The No Closing Costs Gimmick!

If you're in Atlanta, you've probably heard a radio commercial with a guy telling you how he can refinance your loan without charging you closing costs.  He calls closing costs a scam and accuses lenders of ripping off borrowers.  He actually calls them predators.  After hearing him day after day I began wondering if maybe I should check it out.  So I called the number and asked the salesperson about refinancing my loan.  I told him I had heard his commercials and I didn't want to pay any of those nasty closing costs.  That morning I had checked with my usual lenders and knew that the average 30 year fixed rate loan was at 5.25%.  So I figured that his company that was ranting and raving about not charging closing costs would be able to give me a 5.25% rate along with them paying "every dime of my closing costs".  When I called, I was told that the rate for a no closing cost loan was 5.875%.   He said for him to give me 5.25% he would have to charge me $5900 in closing costs. I pretended to be outraged. " What?  I thought closing costs were a scam and a rip off?  Any lender can charge zero closing costs if they increase the interest rate.  Why not raise it a bit more and give me money back at closing?"  Technically, what he says in the ads is correct.  Who knows, maybe his rates might end up being a bit lower.  But call me old fashioned, I just don't like someone not telling me a key detail up front.  What else isn't he telling me? 

  The reality is that there are costs associated with originating a loan.  You either pay for them with cash, roll them into the loan, or you pay a higher interest rate.  Don't take my word for it.  Check it out yourself.  Here's the link to their site. 
 Lenox loans