Begin the process by reading the fine print of each site you choose to work with. Understand the terms of use and privacy policies.
If you are shopping for loan rates on sites like Bankrate or LendingTree, be sure to read their FAQ section, and reviews. These sites are businesses that make money by working with lenders, sometimes pay-per-click or by generating leads. Note that the only way to get someone to click on their site is to be the most enticing. Often times I find that there is a lot of bait and switch on those sites.
Research at least 2 or 3 lenders initially. Get their information. Find out everything you can about each of the lenders. ”Build” informational folders on each on them so that you have the important information about each in one, central place. Make sure when you are looking for the rates, that you shop each lender on the same day, and as close in time as you can with one another so that you capture accurate pricing.
Branch Managers and especially Loan Officers are really sales people in disguise. So, regardless of what they tell you about putting your interest first, always assume that they will be putting their interest first.
See if anyone has reviewed a company having talked to a representative and if they had a positive experience dealing with them. If you don’t like the people that you will be dealing with or dislike their business culture now, it’s probably going to get worse as time passes. Look for reviews warning about being lied to by a salesman.
Other topics to look for reviews on:
- Which products offers the lowest interest rate?
- Will interest rate be fixed or variable
- If variable, when will it change and how high or low did it go?
- If offered an introductory rate, when it expired and how did the new rate change the monthly payment amount?
- If the rate expired, what was the new rate, and was it fixed or variable?
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