Whether you're considering buying a home or refinancing, having the right mortgage professional by your side can make a huge difference in your experience and outcome. Finding and choosing the best mortgage broker near you is an important step to ensure that you not only secure a home loan aligning with your financial goals and preferences but also establish a comfortable working relationship with them. If you are searching google for, "best mortgage broker near me" - here's what to look out for.
1. Check-in With Your Local Networks For The Best Mortgage Broker Near You:
You can always begin your search for the best mortgage broker by asking local networks and seeking recommendations from friends, family, and colleagues. Personal experiences usually give credible realities into the mortgage broker's professionalism, reliability, competitiveness and effectiveness. Even though it's more important for a real estate professional to be local rather than a mortgage banker, personal referrals can help you to find brokers who are up to date in your specific housing market. Keep in mind that even though you may be referred to a distant mortgage banker or broker, as long as they're licensed in your state, and if they're highly rated and communicative - it won't make a difference. Most processes are operated virtually now-a-days anyway!
2. Search For Online Reviews:
In this virtual world of doing business, use the power of online reviews to research the reputation of possible mortgage brokers. Whether the mortgage lender works near you or in a different state - websites like Yelp, Google Reviews, Experience.com and social media platforms will give you tons of feedback from real past clients. Don't mind one or two bad reviews but look for trends! Look for mortgage brokers with consistently positive feedback regarding their pricing, process, communication, and industry knowledge. This will save you so much time and energy of having to restart the process with someone else if it doesn't work out with someone who can't deliver.
3. Check Their Credentials and Licensing:
Check that the mortgage broker you are considering is fully licensed and has no major violations. Check with the NMLS and the DRE to confirm their credentials. A reputable and stand up broker will be clear about their licensing and qualifications. It will show you that they have the utmost professionalism and practice mortgage lending ethically.
4. Ensure Great Communication and Transparency:
Be sure to select a mortgage broker who demonstrates excellent communication and transparency throughout the entire process. Test them by trying to call them, leave them a voicemail, and text. See in real-time how quickly and effectively they communicate with you. This will ensure that you are never left in the dust and you are kept informed at every stage of the mortgage process . A transparent and trustworthy mortgage broker will be upfront about the fees, rates, terms, and any possible challenges that may come along in the process.
5. Compare Multiple Brokers:
It is not a bad idea to talk with multiple mortgage brokers before making your decision about who it is that you want to use. Whether the mortgage lender is local or not, this allows you to really get to know their communication style, how responsive they are or aren't, and overall how much they can meet your needs. Ever lender or broker will have different mortgage products, rates, etc. - some harder to qualify for than others. A good mortgage broker will tell you about various loan products and explain their differences (benefits and disadvantages). They will also tell you which ones you should be able to qualify for, so that you don't waste time. Ask the loan officer about their professional experience, the different loan products they offer, and how they help clients through the mortgage process.
Conclusion: Finding The Best Mortgage Banker or Broker
In order to find the best mortgage broker near you, it requires some checking in with friends and a lot of online research. It also takes some calling around and speaking with the mortgage professional directly. If you tap into your local networks, research and do your due diligence reading online reviews, check the broker's licensing & credentials, verify that they are great with communication - you set yourself up to find the best mortgage broker who can communicate, close your loan with a great rate, and make it a simple and pleasant process. Toward the end of the loan process, your should feel like they delivered what they said they would. We call come along with certain expectations. With the right mortgage broker by your side, the process will be pleasant. You can build a long-term relationship and work with them in the future.
Ross Varahrami is one of the most sought after mortgage professionals in Orange County, CA. He's also licensed in many other states. We recommend at least reaching out to him to have an open conversation and ask him anything you had in mind. He has stellar reviews - check him out here.