Having lenders compete is "hands down" the easiest way to find competitive lenders to that are hungry enough to give you a great deal on your next mortgage.

The problem is that most of the people who fill out the lenders compete application are unaware of the process that is put into motion.

If you take a little time to understand the "lenders compete "process you can easily make sure you that you get your best mortgage deal, which can save you thousands of dollars. More on lenders compete

How do you Win When Banks Compete?

Having lenders compete is "hands down" the easiest way to find competitive lenders to that are hungry enough to give you a great deal on your next mortgage.

The problem is that most of the people who fill out the lenders compete application are unaware of the process that is put into motion. If you take a little time to understand the "lenders compete "process you can easily make sure you that you get your best mortgage deal, which can save you thousands of dollars.

The way we see it, If you are going to spend an hour or two fielding phone calls, an hour or so gathering documents, and another hour signing papers, you should spend an additional 30 minutes to ensure you get your best deal. Ready to get started?

1. Gather and Share Information

Print the First Call Checklist

Remember, it's the lenders' job is to gather information and to become your friend. Your job is to give the information, be friendly and not to be befriended, this is business.

Loan officers are trained to use a two or three call process with internet leads. The first call is designed to build rapport and to gather information. The second call is to review your credit and the third is designed to close the deal. Most customers are ill-equip ed to make the right decision by call three and usually will pick the first lender they spoke with. Lenders know this.

The loan officer’s job is to drag the first phone call out as long as they can. The reasoning behind this is to wear you down so that you spend less time with the competition. Ultimately, 55% of all "lenders compete" applicants opt to use the first lender that calls and this can be attributed to this tactic call one checklist. How long has she been with her company? How long has he been in the business?

 Note: Make sure that you are share the correct information with the LO. and do not omit anything important about your scenario.

Most of the “surprise closings” you hear about are not the result of a dishonest loan officer, they are the result of inexperienced ones who do not ask enough questions. Chances are, if you have a three minute phone interview from a loan officer who was in the food service industry last year you can expect a low quote and a lot of surprises.

There are over 255 conforming products alone, each having over 30 pages in guidelines. When a loan officer makes a mistake it costs you time and money. For this reason alone, make sure you are communicating everything that is needed for him to give you an accurate quote. You should be ready to fax or communicate the following information during or after the first phone call:

2. Communicate What You Want

You should communicate exactly what you want the same exact way with each lender. You will be tempted to spend less and less time with each lender that asks the same questions as the one before them asked. Bite the bullet and do a full application with each lender, you never know which lender will be able to offer the best deal.

Next, Let them know which type of mortgage programs you are interested in hearing about i.e. 30 year fixed. Next, (this is very important) communicate to the LO that you would like to receive 2 separate quotes for this loan program, each on a separate GOOD FAITH ESTIMATE.

This is important to understand:

Lenders make a profit one of two ways. They will raise the interest rate higher than they buy the money for OR they will inflate the closing costs higher than it cost to close the loan. There are no exceptions.

By asking for these two different quotes, you are effectively asking the lender to show you her lowest rate (with points) and her lowest fees (without points). Make sense? This gives you the answer to the two biggest secrets that lenders usually try to dance around.

3. Research the Lender Online

Your last goal is to find out as much about the company as you can between the first and second call. We are going to try and weed out the lower rated lenders and focus on the better ones. The first thing you should do after filling out the lenders compete loan application is to do a little home-work.

First you need to head over to the Better Business Bureau, (Opens a New Window), this will tell you if the company has any unresolved complaints. This is why the checklist up top asks you to get the complete name and address of the lender. There most likely are multiple lenders with this name. Make sure you get their company name and address when you speak with the lender the first time.

Keep in mind, the number of complaints may be a result of the volume the company has done and not a direct reflection of their customer service. Meaning, a company with one complaint and only 100 loans completed is worse than a company with ten complaints and over 5000 loans completed. Make sense? Step two is where we will begin to collect all of the the variables of the lenders home equity loan offer.

The last stop is to a website that you must take with a grain of salt. They are a public forum that usually only attracts angry customers. You should not use this website in whole to make a decision about your prospective lender. Rather, you should use it to spot specific weaknesses in that lender and make sure you avoid them. This website can be reached here and all you need to do is search the lender's name.