Last week we started talking about our 6 Step Process to Financing Your Home. We covered the first step: Determining How Much You Can Afford. This week we want to cover selecting a lender and selecting a loan. 

Step 2) Selecting A Lender

While there are many people who prefer to deal only with their regular banking institution, as your REALTOR advisors, we will probably suggest you SHOP around to find both a lender and a loan that are most suited to your needs.

Home Financing is a competitive market. Visiting with Banks is OK, but you should consider contacting more than one Lender and lending institution (Banks, Credit Unions, Private Mortgage Lenders, Mortgage Brokers, as well as a host of reputable Online Lenders).

You need to interview and evaluate each individual lender personally as well as rate their company, and the products they offer. Be prepared with a questionnaire and compare them side by side. We will provide a Mortgage Shopping Worksheet to assist you.

Whomever you choose to represent you, make sure that you have selected the Lender that you trust, and who you believe has expertise, and will provide you with the service and results that you expect and deserve.

Step 3) Selecting A Loan

A mortgage is a product! There are many different models and prices.

Each mortgage / home loan product has a different price, different terms, with different benefits and drawbacks. You have a variety of financing options available to you, each one is designed to meet different goals and financial situations. You'll want to compare all of these factors.

Shopping, comparing, and negotiating may save you thousands of dollars. Two tools that will be particularly useful for you are this chart comparing the pros and cons of the most common types of Home Loans and who may find them most useful, and this Mortgage Shopping Worksheet with questions you should ask each lender about each type of Mortgage that they offer so that you can compare them side by side to help decide which lender and which loan is best for your needs.

Next week we'll talk about steps 4 and 5. To read all 6 steps visit our Buying a Home in Las Cruces website.