Best Mortgage Lender (Austin: refinance, credit, loans)

[LittleCityATX]

Hi everyone,

I'm thinking of buying a house (just put an offer out) but haven't lined up financing (things happened more quickly than I expected).

Anyone have experience with a broker/lender online or not with the best rates/fees? I've used on online broker before and had no problems closing, but there are SO many of them now. (For example, US Mortgage Capital claims to have 4.75% loans, 0 points, $795 fees - which sounds like a great price.)

Thanks for any help!

[eileenkeeney]

I went out to lendingtree.com, not something I necessarily recommend (unless you have a phone you are ok turning off).

Here are a few I had it narrowed down to (not necessarily the absolute best rate, which I was hesitant to believe).

Harry Dunmire [Harry@FinanceAustinAssociates.com]
Because the rate was very good (better than the person my Realtor had recommended) and he was local, and he offered me some hope in getting a loan for a house that many lenders might not approve a loan for, I am still considering using this one.


Flagship [flagshipemail@ffgcorporate.com]
But I think this one offered me the best rate, but I found the offer to good to believe.
Maybe I became too hesitant to trust a rate that was 0.5 lower than the rate offered by the lender my Realtor had recommended. I believe this was on a 10 year loan, and the rate for a 15 year was only 2 tenths better. I don't remember all the details for sure.


My Realtor recommended this one (who is not on LendingTree):
Eric Silvas [esilvas@envoymtg.com]
He gets an A+ for service, he even sent me a starbucks card.
His rate is within a tenth as good as I would get if I went to my credit union, and his service is MUCH better.
I paid no application fee, and he did my pre-qual and a LOT of work toward a loan on a house I almost bought.
So I have some loyalty here.
So this one is still on the top of my list UNLESS I buy the house that is going to have trouble qualifying OR my 2nd choice offers me a rate (APR) that is at least 0.25 better. (Since I will probably get a 10 year loan and may even pay it all off prior to that, small differences in rate will not impact me as much as they will someone getting a longer term loan).


You can email these, and ask their rates. It can not hurt.

[motherofthree]

I just refinanced through treatyoakmortgage.com - Mike Schmuelgen. They are a local company and had the lowest closing costs of all the companies I called with a great rate. I basically called all the companies listed in the Sunday paper mortgage rates section and compared all the Good Faith Estimates.

Used lending tree on my last house. Got the old bait and switch with the company I used through them.

Call around and get at least 5 Good Faith Estimates. You'll be shocked at how different they will all be.

[eileenkeeney]

What company did you use through lendingtree.
My Realtor warned me about their bait and switch.
Because I ended up backing out on that particular house, I never went as far as the good faith estimate.

Once a rate is locked in, can they switch it?
Or is it the fees that ended up changing?

[motherofthree]

I honestly don't remember the lending tree company I used. It was back in 2004. The rate ended up being higher and so did the closing costs. And I was told my rate was locked. I didn't have the actual closing info until the day before closing so I felt like I had to go through with it even though I thought it was completely wrong and when I would mention it to the person I was working with he would brush me off.

I remember the reviews of the company being so so. Half were excellent and the other half would say that their rates and costs went up at closing.

I just consider it as another life lesson. I keep hoping my life lessons will slow down.

[LittleCityATX]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I'll give the local one a try. (I'm not a fan of lending tree but the Zillow marketplace looks interesting.)

[ROY DUBOSE]

pick one on these -- wendy dabrusin @ supreme lending, gary solka @ sente, or cody daniel @ captstar -- can't go wrong -- they're all local