David Neal's Mortgage Blog

I talk to so many people that just get boggged down and overwelmed with shopping for a mortgage. Trying to compare this loan with that loan without any real way of comparing them accurately. Not to mention, all of the dissinformation that they get from inexperienced loan officers, just trying to get the loan. I think if I had to go through all of it, I would lose my mind and I've been doing mortgages for 13 years.

 I read that the FTC did a study of the effectiveness of the required disclosures, to see if they helped the consumer choose the best loan. They presented three loans to people with full disclosure and asked them to pick the cheapest or "best loan". Would you believe that not only did a majority of people not pick the cheapest loan, but picked the most expensive loan?

The only good way to compare apples to oranges when it comes to mortgage loan programs is a total cost analysis! Not by the just the rate or the closing costs, but by "what does this loan actually cost me over time".

Combine this with loan officers that may sound like they are knowledgeable, but don't really know what they are talking about or are just plain inexperienced...and the even the above average consumer's chances of sorting through everything isn't real good. On my site I provide a guide with every lender should be able to answer, to help. This will quickly seperate out the Loan Officers that know what they are talking about and those that don't. It is my opinion that the last minute changes in the rate or the terms of a mortgage are largly due to the loan officer not knowing what they are doing, not because they planned it.