Shopping for Mortgage Rates
I have written so many articles on why this is wrong. Shopping for mortgage rates is exactly not the place to look. This is marketing at it’s best because ad agencies have you convinced this is what to do. While they have you focused on mortgage rates you miss the most important reasons to choose a bank and banker.
Did you know that there are dozens of 30 year mortgages? That recently promoted paperless mortgages work for less than 5% of all home buyers? That shopping online can lower your FICO score while a banker fully pre-approving you might not? Do you know the difference between advertised, posted prices and quoted prices? How about the difference between being a customer and being a client? That a mortgage broker is not always a bank? Why does it matter if a “bank” is a FDIC member? OR if it has LLC at the end of it’s name?
Because advertising points you in the wrong direction, it’s so easy to make a mistake unknowingly. The truth is :
- Rates today don’t matter for buying tomorrow
- Mortgage rates fluctuate minute by minute often
- There are major differences among financial resources
- This field is way too complicated to be left to an algorithm
It’s all wrong, wrong, wrong. Who gets hurt? You. Who wins? The mortgage bank. Read my article on why mortgage rate shopping is a mistake. This will protect you from all the hype so you do get the best mortgage loan for your needs.
Check Your Credit Report
It’s not always true that checking your credit report will lower your credit score. It depends on how and why it’s pulled. Since everyone is entitled to 1 free credit report every year, check yours today for mistakes. Go to the FTC website to do this. Credit scores are lowered by what’s called a hard pull but not by a soft pull. Experian is one of the 3 major credit bureaus relied upon to review anyone’s credit. They have a great article explaining the difference between hard and soft credit pulls.
Because mistakes on credit reports do happen, take advantage of your free annual credit report. If there is something wrong, you can fix it now before it hurts you later.
