Call or visit several banks and mortgage brokers. Consider banks where you normally bank first because they sometimes offer their customers reduced interest rates when they have payments deducted from a checking account.

Ask friends or family if they could refer you to a good loan officer. A referral from a satisfied customer is usually a good place to start your search for a new mortgage.

A great resource to use when you are shopping for a loan is to reference the bank you are working with against the Better Business Bureau. That way you can check for complaints filed by past customers and see if they have been resolved or not.

When you are shopping for a mortgage, be sure that you are comparing the same loan programs. A 30 year fixed rate will be different than a 20 or 15 year fixed rate. Provide the same information to each of the companies that you apply with. Just as the length of the mortgage can change things drastically, so can your income, home's value, and employment history.

There is no need to shop around with half a dozen lenders. Try to focus more on working with who you feel is most trust worthy and has your best interests in mind. Generally, 2-3 lenders should be enough to give you a good idea what rate, terms, and fees to expect with your new mortgage.

When shopping for a home loan be sure to get everything in writing. Quotes given over the telephone tend to increase unless you have the offer in writing as well. If you are in doubt regarding your mortgage quote then ask for good faith estimate of the rate, term, and fees.

Nowadays, when it comes to shopping for a home loan, one may be able to better comparatively shop several mortgage offers with a few clicks on the internet. However, always be sure to deal with licensed mortgage brokers or chartered banks that will work "hands on" with your mortgage application. Avoid mortgage websites that promise to "give you four offers after completing a form" or "have up to four lenders competing for your business". These are "leads" websites that only look to sell your information. Loan applicants of "leads" websites will have their information sold and resold, and will be phoned by different mortgage companies for months or years to come.

Licensed mortgage brokers will search and compare many different lenders and loan programs for you. Most of the time, mortgage brokers will find better programs than you can find by shopping around for yourself. Dealing with one mortage broker you can trust will save you a lot of time and stress.

When you are shopping around for a mortgage you should make sure you are shopping around and asking about rates preferably on the same day and definitely within a couple days of one another. Rates can and do change on a daily basis throughout each day and can differ from one hour to the next and from one day to the next. For this reason it is important to shop around for rates around the same time-frame so that you are being quoted the most up to date rates based on the same times.

A good loan officer can help minimize your stress and anxiety by anticipating problems and heading them off and by explaining everything to your satisfaction.

Shopping for a loan online has never been easier, especially for borrowers who have unique financing needs or special situations. The internet allows borrowers to find "niche" or specialty lenders who focus on their specific situation, and can save months of trying to fit a square peg into the bank's round hole.

When shopping for a loan try to narrow your loan products to just a few. Then compare rates from several lenders. Also, get a detailed list of costs to compare.