Anonymous wrote:Here's the deal on mortgages. Find someone to write the pre-qualification letter. Once you have a ratified contract, reach out to several lenders and get quotes. Give the first person the opportunity to meet or beat your first quote and call it a day.

I received an increase in the lender credit of about $3K doing it this way.

+1 I got 3 sets of quotes and each time I tried to turn down lender A because I had gotten a better offer from lender B, lender A would increase their lender credit...I saved about $2K that way (probably could have saved more if I continued the back and forth process with the lenders, but I was worried about getting all the paperwork finalized quickly.)

Here's the deal on mortgages. Find someone to write the pre-qualification letter. Once you have a ratified contract, reach out to several lenders and get quotes. Give the first person the opportunity to meet or beat your first quote and call it a day.

I received an increase in the lender credit of about $3K doing it this way.

Closing costs vary widely. As do points (money) you pay if you want to buy down your interest rate. Not all banks give the same rate.

Anonymous wrote:Chase gave me a 100 percent no fee no point loan at 3.65 recently and a free BBQ tool set.

I only paid appraisal and application fee which I got credits at closing that covered that.

Were you already a loyal Chase customer before you applied? What year was this (just for context)? Thanks.

Chase gave me a 100 percent no fee no point loan at 3.65 recently and a free BBQ tool set.

I only paid appraisal and application fee which I got credits at closing that covered that.

Starting to shop around for a mortgage as everyone suggests we do and unsure what shopping around really gets me other than a better rate, and rates change every day. Products are generally the same as we're looking to put down 20% and do a 30 year fixed.

What kind of perks or services should I be looking for? Waving fees? Help with settlement costs? Our credit scores are 775+.