Where do I find an FHA mortgage lender?
Answering for consumers located in the United States.Find a LOCAL lender, located in the city in which you work/live.Most all local lenders will offer FHA loans.Talk with the bank, where you have your checking and savings account. Do you like your bank? Get good service? I’m assuming your bank is NOT Wells Fargo. I do not recommend Wells Fargo.If you like your bank, talk with them. All large, depository banks offer mortgage lending and FHA products.If you live in a small town, you might be better served with a local mortgage broker.Work with LOCAL people who are invested in your community, and have a good reputation for providing great service with high ethics.Banks and lenders cannot advertise that they have the lowest or best rates. Instead, shop for the person. Look for a licensed loan originator. Ask your friends and family for a referral. Interview them. You’ll connect with one of them.Good luck!
Mortgage Broker or Mortgage Lender? Which should I go with for a home loan?
Your best bet is to shop both. Banks are fine, good rates and service, but they will often have a smaller mix of products to choose from. So, they may or may not be able to provide the best loan for your unique situation. A broker can use the products and rates of dozens of different banks. Some banks are stronger than others on certain products. Some brokers have tons of experience in structuring deals in ways bankers can't. You might find widely varying offers. They may be almost identical. Get some referrals from people you know for loan officers and bankers they've used before. Call a big bank or two. Ideally, get your credit scores from the first guys, and use that score to shop for other quotes without having to have everyone run your credit. Get good-faith estimates of closing costs and rates from all of them, again ideally on the same day (rates do move up and down frequently. Same day comparisons help you see who is lowest without dealing with rate movements).
Which mortgage lender is the best for a first-time home buyer?
There is no such thing as a “best” mortgage lender. The best lender and more often, type of loan than the actual lender, depends on your specific situation.The following is specifically geared toward the United States.Your income and ability to prove that income, debt to income ratio, housing ratio, credit score, years on the job, cash you have for down payment and closing costs, cash reserves and whether you are legally in the country are generally the most important criteria to determine which loan(s) you may qualify for, if any. There are a whole host of other criteria but these are the main ones that usually qualify or disqualify a borrower for a particular loan.For most loans you must satisfy ALL criteria, otherwise you are disqualified from that particular loan. In some cases there are offsets where being weak in one category can be overcome by being strong in another. A common example is if you put a larger down payment you may be able to qualify for a home loan with a lower credit score than otherwise possible.Some loans, such as USDA loans are available ONLY by geographic area: specifically outside large metropolitan areas as defined by USDA. These loans have a zero down payment requirement if you meet their other criteria.Perhaps the biggest problem with home loans is the rules seem to continually change. In stable periods the interest rates change a bit and credit score requirements move up and down a little while most other criteria are reasonably constant. During a market crash the rules can change daily and entire loan products can be removed from the market; meaning the ENTIRE United States.This all boils down to borrowers needing to work with qualified loan officers familiar with the loan process and qualifying criteria. Even if you educate yourself “perfectly” you still do not have access to inside information and your opinion has no value, the lender’s underwriter is the party that decides what is and is not “good enough” to qualify. A good loan officer will know most of what works to guide you but does not have the final say in granting the loan.
Would a mortgage lender verify my bank statement?
My wife and I have just applied for a mortgage, and I faked my bank statements. Would the lender verify them with my bank? They asked for payslips and ID too, which I provided - why do they ask for bank statements?