I have a meeting coming up at my bank regarding a mortgage. I’m not applying for one, yet, but this meeting is mostly going to be about where i stand in regards to personal finances. My bank is Wachovia and they do offer home loans thru them so i just assumed they would be the best place to start.
But is there any benefit or detriment when going with a mortgage from a bank rather than a credit union or a company that deals strictly with mortgages?
If it matters i am 26 years old, a first time buyer, a credit score of 874, no debt, and single.
You certainly can shop around for rates. We got our first mortgage through a mortgage company, refinanced through them, then refinanced again (both times to drop the interest rate) with LendingTree.
Definitely shop around. We have our mortgage through a bank because their rates were comparable to others and we got a small break on the fees through my job. Also ask around to find out if people you know have had noteworthy good or bad experiences with particular institutions.
We did look into mortgages through our credit union but they weren’t quite as good - though interestingly, their home equity line of credit terms were better, so that’s who we have our HELOC with.
Shop around, but remember to compare both rates and terms. With relatively high interest rates today, you’ll want one without prepayment penalties, if possible. Ask about fees, and get the quotes in writing.
There was an article in the Times on mortgages that noted the companies are making a lot of their money off of fees, since they used to sell the mortgages off, so you need to be especially careful on this.
There are pros and cons to using Bankrate.com but that’s where one can find the rates that are offered by large banks and small operators alike. You can compare what Wachovia is offering and see whether they’re within reason or are charging you an excessive rate. Mortgages have been commoditized to a certain degree, and that helps when shopping around.