How do I shop for a mortgage?

Pretty sure we will be retiring in Vegas at the end of the year. Would like to get pre-approved for a small mortgage. Have been told by people who should know what they are talking about I should use Wells Fargo as they have banks in both IN and NV. Have been told by other such people I should use a mtg broker to get lower costs and possibly a better rate. Personally I would think an online lender would have the least overhead thus the best deal.

Any opinions? As there are so many varibles I do not even know what questions to ask.

BTW: I am VA eligible. Do not know if that matters as will only be borrowing about 50%

Considering that it is a lousy market with a huge inventory you may want to give some thought to renting as the home values may continue to decline for some time. If you need the cash or have to sell you may not want to buy something that could be worth less in the future.

I think you could get some good rental value at this time & at the same time offer flexibility if you want to move and hold on to your cash

Just a thought

Doesn't hurt to get Pre-approved. No skin off your nose. You can buy now or later.

As to WHERE to get the Mortgage?

I have no exp. with Online mtg. But Banks vs. Broker?

I would definately recommend a Mtg. BROKER. Someone who works closely with your Realtor, is a good way to get a recommendation too. Good realtors usually know the good brokers to choose.

A relative of mine has been Waiting on a Loan thru Wells Fargo for close to 5 months.
This was after waiting 5 months on Bof A.

In the meantime, a different relative went thru a Broker......and had the option of Many different possiblilities. He's now been in his home for over 4 months,and guess where the Loan eventurally was sold to? Bof A.

So, seeing what those close to me, have been thru...............I'd say start with a Broker,and Don't go directly to the bank. YMMV
Good Luck.

(PS- I agree that renting (in the beginnning) makes the most sense, unless you absolutely Know where you want to Live in Vegas.
There are many different areas.........Renting for 6 months, and being there. You might change your mind where you want to be/live, once you're there.)

To get an idea of rates, finance.yahoo.com will list a number of rates that are being disclosed online. It includes both online companies and regular banks (For example, BofA and Wells Fargo is frequently listed). I'm not suggesting going with any of those companies, but it does give you an idea of the rates.

If you're only borrowing 50% -- you'll get a better rate. Much safer.

Pre-approved makes life easier and it gives you the ability to negotiate better because the seller will know you can close.

When I refi'd, I went with an online company (Quicken Loans) and it couldn't have gone better. They kept me very well informed and everything went exactly as stated. The reason I tried them, they are one of the largest in the country and there were a lot of very good reviews posted online. I also tried Lending Tree, but they couldn't quote me a competitive rate (they were 5/8% higher).

Do they still pre-approve you for waaaaaaay more than you should actually borrow? Or did that die out with the mortgage crisis?

- Jeff

Thanks for the online First hand exp TB.

Jeff- I really DON'T think you see the astronomical amounts approved anymore.
You GET what you Qualify for. That's all folks.

tennis bum,

Based on your input I called Quicken. What a contrast with Wells Fargo. I called WF a few weeks ago and told them what I needed. They faxed me 6 pages to complete (I have been a client for 20 years). There was quite a lot of questions about the purchase home. As I do not know what home I am purchasing I called back. I was told to complete the form and leave that part blank.

I just got off the phone with Quicken. I told them what I needed, gaVe them my name, address, and SS#. I got a preapproval in less than a minute. They did say it was only good for 90 days so I should wait until I was ready to look before they sent it to me. They also gave me an estimate of charges that was 1/2 the charges I paid on my last Wells Fargo loan.

I am feeling pretty good right now about the whole thing even though I never did find out "How do I shop for a mortgage".

I used a mortgage broker who was a friend of my realtor. He got the best deal from Suntrust Bank, so that's what I went with. A few months ago Suntrust sold my loan to Nationstar. It was a seamless transition from my perspective.

What little I know about shopping for rates is this: you can go online or get on the phone and ask lenders what their current mortgage rate is.

What I find a little easier is to use something like finance.yahoo.com who will do a quick search for you to see a list of rates once you specify what time of loan (and where) you want.

My backstory:
About two years ago when 30 year fixed rates went below 5%, I wanted to refinance. I went with the mortgage broker I had gotten the original mortgage with. After three weeks and filling out forms and such, I had to wait. Finally, I got a call. But the rate was above 5%. It would take me something like 6 years to break-even. I turned it down.

So, this last year, rates dropped again. I decided to try online. I'm very cautious about online companies. So I found some websites where people complain about their mortgage company. Both Lending Tree and Quicken Loans did pretty well. So I filled out the forms for both of them. Quicken wanted to do things by phone, so I was on the phone with them a week later.

After getting the rate, I said I'd sign off after I got something in writing. The guy I was talking with thought this was weird, but it's how I do things. I wanted a chance to read all the details on costs and such. Quicken e-mailed me some preliminary paperwork laying out all the costs and such and an hour later, I had given them an advance and was in process. It went quickly, and I got a very good rate -- not the lowest I found, but the lowest among those companies I found acceptable. All along the way, the website would provide me with all the details of what was happening and any adjusted estimates in costs.

When it came time to close, a local notary came to my house (I could pick the location -- public locations such as a library or coffee house are acceptable). I signed off. Conversion done. Almost no work by me. Very easy. I then referred them to someone else, and they refinanced them.


Anyway...
Keith, where are you looking at buying in LV? If I were shopping now, I think I'd buy out near Red Rock. Love it out there.

We really like the Aliante area. Everything is new. Seems to be away from the confusion. Seems like it has less polution with the little increase in altitude. I plan to work some but if I do it will be like now...from my home.

Henderson is 2nd choice. Has a more solid history and does not have a "North Las Vegas" address. Values have held there a little better than other areas. Homes tend to be a little older.

Red Rock seems good but does not have a lot of single family homes in our price range.

Thought we would like an age restricted area but were very disappointed in the ones we looked at in Aliante and Summerlin.

We looked at 1 non age restricted home during last trip. Seemed crazy to buy the 1st home we looked at.
(Especially a year prior to retiring). That turned out to be the best deal we have found after looking at hundreds online. Wish we would have bit.