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Best Mortgage Lenders in Harrisburg, PA
Whether you are a first-time home buyer or have purchased property before, you want to find the best Harrisburg, PA mortgage lender you can find. What determines which is the “best” has much to do with what you are purchasing.
Some Harrisburg PA Mortgage Lenders specialize in first-time home buyers, others work better for people with little or bad credit or who qualify for special mortgages like FHA loans or VA loans. Some mortgage lenders will only work with people who can put down sizeable down payments and some have limits on the amount they will loan. This information leads to your first tip. Know your credit score.
Word of Mouth
Talking to your family and friends will frequently give you a lead on several mortgage lenders in Harrisburg, PA that are reputable and will work with you. The problem with this method is that your financial situation may be very different from the friend’s financial situation. They may have a better credit score than you have which will mean that almost any lender will work with you. They may also not qualify for specialized loans, like VA loans, and you do. So, though the lender they recommend may be excellent, reputable, and reliable, it may also not be the right fit for you.
DIY Searching
If you enjoy doing research, you can try finding the best Harrisburg, PA mortgage lender yourself. Look up mortgage lenders in your area using the internet. Check out their rating with the Better Business Bureau and see if there have been any complaints.
Once you are satisfied that you have several lenders that look good, check out the interest rates they are offering. Obviously, you don’t want to go with the one offering the highest rate. But you should also check out the types of loans they work with. Here again, is where the specialty loans come into play.
If your credit is average, see if they have any credit score requirements for the interest rate they are offering. You should also check to see if they will finance the type of property you want to purchase – a vacation home is different than your primary residence and a first-time home buyer is different than one who has purchased before. Once you have found several potential lenders, consider applying with all of them. By law, they must give you a written estimate of the costs of the loan, including points and fees, within three days. This is a fairly quick turnaround so it can’t hurt. This way you can compare the estimates and pick the one that offers the deal that best suits your needs.
Mortgage Broker
Another option, and one that is probably the best for a first-time home buyer or a buyer that may qualify for a specialty loan is a mortgage broker such as A Plus Mortgage Solutions. A conventional mortgage lender works with a specific bank or other financial institution and can only lend based on the specific programs and rules offered by the financial backer.
A mortgage broker, on the other hand, works with numerous financial institutions and can, therefore, search for the best deal considering your financial situation and the loan types available to you. A mortgage broker like A Plus Mortgage Solutions offers you more flexibility in interest rates, fees, mortgage amount, and credit history. If you aren’t the do-it-yourself type and have little experience purchasing a property, a mortgage broker is probably the way to go.