My wife and I stumbled upon a house that seems to be a great fit for us (proximity to a large park, good schools, good lot size, not too old but nice tree canopy, etc.). This was unexpected, we did not expect to find what would work for us so soon. We toured on Saturday, put in an offer on Sunday, and it was accepted on Monday.

Now I need to line up the financing.

I am already talking to bankers at BofA, RocketMortgage, and I would like to add some extra to the mix. The bankers I have already talked to want me to send them the executed contract. I am hesitant to do so since I do not understand the implications - does that lock them in in any way?

This is the info I got from one of the bankers:

Some important items to remember:

As soon as you put in an offer on a home please let me know so we can prepare your loan for the next steps.
Once you have an accepted offer, please send me a copy of the fully-executed purchase contract right away.
Please ensure your realtor has my contact information and please inform them that we will be working together.

Comments

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TheSarj29 t1_ja9udm3 wrote on February 27, 2023 at 10:11 PM

Sending the contract does not lock you into the the rate. You have to give them permission to lock. You will also need to sign disclosures saying you want to move forward with them as your lender. Even if you do all of this you are under no obligation to get the loan thru them as all you would need to do is send an email saying you have decided to use a different lender.

Reality is, all lenders are going to have about the same rate and fees. If someone was that much better then everyone would used them.

Your best bet is to find a broker and go with them. Brokers typically have a little bit better pricing than mortgages companies (such as Rocket), credit unions and larger banks.

dad_husband_selfi t1_ja9qpvh wrote on February 27, 2023 at 9:47 PM

Best way is to get Loan Estimates from multiple lenders. The CFPB created the Loan Estimate to make it very easy for home-buyers to shop many lenders by comparing apples to apples.

Despite the government's effort, according to the CFPB 76% of home-buyers only get 1 Loan Estimate.

So don't be afraid, now is the time to shop, shop, shop. Credit Bureaus enable all your hits to be counted as 1 inquiry within a shopping window.

Swarles_Stinson t1_ja9yczv wrote on February 27, 2023 at 10:38 PM

Work with a broker. They will find the lenders for you. I specifically told my broker that I did not want any lenders who required escrow and they found me a lender that fit my needs.

thefrugalfather t1_ja9sufi wrote on February 27, 2023 at 10:01 PM

Have you looked into a local credit union? Also here is a good link for more options: https://www.bankrate.com/mortgages/best-lenders/best-mortgage-lenders/

GreedyNovel t1_jaa70vg wrote on February 27, 2023 at 11:37 PM

If you have never entered into a mortgage before, a big bank or RM will make everything very easy for you - but it will cost more.

If you have done this before and feel comfortable with the mortgage process, a good CU will win on price. I got a hell of a deal with Penfed CU a couple of years ago.

Phylah t1_jab3svu wrote on February 28, 2023 at 3:40 AM

Rocket Mortgage was amazing for us to get quick turn around on financing approval letters in a bidding war. We then went with a credit union due to lower fees and better rate…multiple quotes makes it more flexible but at the end of the day take the best rate and lowest upfront costs.