So, you are thinking about buying a home. One of your very first decisions that you’ll have to make is which mortgage company to go through, and for that you’ll want to know how to rate mortgage companies. There are many different mortgage companies out there and unless you know exactly what to look for and how to determine if a mortgage lender is a bad lender then it can be very difficult to make a decision and pick the right lender. There are some factors that you can use to weigh one mortgage company against another and using these determinations will ensure that you make the best decision for your mortgage.

The first thing to keep in mind is that you should go with a local company. Try to avoid companies that are out of state or solely on the web. You’ll want a company that is familiar with mortgage loans in your area so that you don’t miss out a great deal because they didn’t know about it. Try to avoid web based companies altogether because although they may seem legitimate on the surface they may not be, and in fact there are many so called mortgage lenders on the web that simply collect your information and sell it. Sometimes it makes it to an actual mortgage company but more often the information is sold to anyone that will buy it.

Another don’t is to avoid the lender that your real estate agent recommends unless you do your research and find that they offer you the best deal. This is rarely the case. The real estate will recommend a certain lender because he or she may get a commission off of the loan in addition to the fee that they are already receiving from the sale of the house. This means that the loan may not be in your best interests or you may be dealing with a lender that will not be looking out for you. Try to avoid this if you can. The best way to find a mortgage lender is to shop around until you find you are completely comfortable with.

If your mortgage lender is underestimating fees such as per diem, tax escrow and other pre-paids. All mortgage lenders will give discounts for things like new development discounts and seven and three year reissues. The prepaids are actually set by the state that you are in and mortgage companies cannot give discounts on these things. Make sure that you are dealing with an honest lender that will tell you exactly what your mortgage is gonna cost. You don’t want any surprises later on that you didn’t plan for. It’s always better to deal with a lender that will tell you how it is, rather than one that will mislead you for a sale.

Rating mortgage companies will give you a much better idea of the overall value that they will offer you as well as how good their customer service is. You can figure out what factors you want and rate each company on your own scale and then go back after you have visited several lenders and look at your list with your spouse and make a decision as to which one you like best. The interest rate, customer service and availability of options are all things that you can rate mortgage companies on. This gives you something to look back on when you make your final decision.