• Home
  • Blog
  • Contact
    • Location
  • About
    • Libby Guthrie
    • Ken Guthrie
    • Brittany Armenta Perez
  • Search the MLS
  • Sell
    • Sell My House
    • What’s My Home Worth?
  • Buy
    • Search the MLS
    • Home Buyers Guide – How to Avoid Costly Mistakes When Buying a Home
    • Frequently Asked Questions of Home Buyers
  • Reviews
    • Leave Your Review
  • FAQs

Guthrie Group Homes

Real Estate

Call Guthrie Group Homes, Real Estate at (925) 628-2436 | DRE #01117537Guthrie Group Homes, Real Estate - Keller Williams East County
Real Estate - Home » Blog » Home Buyers » Questions to Ask Your Mortgage Lender [VIDEO]

Questions to Ask Your Mortgage Lender [VIDEO]

April 20, 2020 By Libby Guthrie Leave a Comment

Question: Libby, what kind of questions should I ask my mortgage lender when buying a house? Answered by Libby Guthrie

Video Transcript

Hi, I’m Libby Guthrie with Keller Williams Realty in Northern California, and I’m going to give you some tips today about choosing your mortgage lender and questions to ask that mortgage lender and things to consider when you’re going to be choosing a mortgage lender.

At the end of this video, you can request our free booklet, how to avoid costly mistakes when buying a home, and we’ll be happy to send that to you.

One thing I’ve found is a lot of the buyers start out on the internet looking to see what their monthly payment’s going to be and what they can qualify for as far as a purchase price of a home. Sometimes they’ll hook up with this internet lender that’s not even in our area. And they may not even know the particulars of our area and what our tax assessments are if any, and what any normal closing costs that a seller may pay in our area, and the normal closing costs that a buyer may pay in our area.

So this, these internet lenders sometimes quote you certain amounts and when reality hits, that is not the case. So you want to make sure that whoever’s quoting you a particular rate, for example, and payment, are they quoting principal interest taxes and insurance or are they just quoting principal and interest for your payment?

Because this is the biggest investment probably you’ve ever encountered. You probably want to consider using a local competent mortgage lender that can help you, guide you through this process. Your realtor should be able to give you names of several different lenders that they’ve used in the past. And that you can sit down and you can interview these lenders and make sure that you are comfortable with them and you know their products and what kind of loan you are getting into.

Talk to these lenders. Ask them how long have they been in the business? How many loans have they done just this year? Have them give you some names of some of their prior clients. And you could call and talk to them and reach out to them and see if they were happy with this person.

Find out how they communicate. Are they going to be responsive to you? Are they only working Monday through Friday and certain times? Do they work evenings or do they work on the weekends? If they’re not available, do they have, have other team members that can help out and assistants that can answer your questions.

Another question to ask is, are they a direct lender or do they broker out their loans? That means are they directly funding the loan or is someone else going to be funding the loan and not their company? Do they have underwriting in house, meaning that the loan officer could contact the underwriter direct and speak to them about your particular loan? Is the loan officer knowledgeable about the type of loan that you need?

Some loan officers, for example, only work with conventional type financing with so much money down, and they do, do not work with FHA, VA type loans or first time home buyer type loans. So you want to make sure that they understand if you’re going to need, for example, a VA loan, a Veterans Administration loan, are they familiar with that type of loan?

Ask about paying points and would that be advantageous to you? When you pay points, that lowers your interest rate. So if your loan amount is $300,000 for example, one point would be three thousand dollars. So if you wanted to lower your rate, say a quarter of a percent, you would need to pay one point.

Are you comfortable paying that amount? Do you have that in your budget? And would it be, like I said, advantageous for you over the years to pay points? If you’re only going to be in the home for a few years, it’s probably not advantageous. But if this is going to be your forever home, it might be advantageous to you to go ahead and pay some points to get that interest rate a little bit lower for you.

Ask your lender about closing costs and make sure you understand what those costs are and what they’re for. There’s also some costs that are going to be upfront costs that could possibly affect your budget. So what that would be would, sometimes there’s application fees that lenders collect upfront. There’s also appraisal fees that lenders collect and you may not get those back if for some reason you don’t purchase the particular home that you’re getting your appraisal for, for example.

You can usually figure about two to 4% of your loan amount is going to be the amount of your closing costs, so you want to factor that in along with your down payment.

Have your mortgage lender explain that down payment to you and exactly what your closing costs are going to be. Make sure that you and your real estate agent know what the timeframe is going to be for the loan officer to be able to close your loan once you’re into contract. So you want to know that upfront, so when you write the contract and you get it accepted, you’ve put the proper amount of days in there for that contract. So that you will be closing on time because you don’t want to delay for some reason and lose out on purchasing that home.

It is pretty common and that the mortgage lenders do sell loans after closing, so be on the lookout for the notification of where you’re going to be making your payment and if you have any questions regarding that go ahead and contact your mortgage lender and verify that that’s where you’re supposed to be making your mortgage payments.

I hope this has been helpful for you, and if you have any questions regarding buying or selling a home, I’d be happy to help you out even if you’re not in the Northern California area.

My number’s (925) 628-2436. And please remember to request the free booklet, how to avoid costly mistakes when buying a home, and we’ll be happy to send that to you. Thanks a lot.

Don’t forget to request the free booklet, How to Avoid Costly Mistakes When Buying a Home at the end of this video. Thanks.

End Transcript

How to Avoid Costly Mistakes When Buying a Home (and save thousands).

https://guthriegrouphomes.com/how-to-avoid-costly-mistakes-when-buying-a-home/

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share
Pocket
Buffer
0 Shares

Filed Under: Home Buyers Tagged With: Home Buyer Tips, Video

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Find Us on Social Media

Facebook
Facebook
fb-share-icon
Instagram
Pinterest
YouTube
YouTube
LinkedIn
LinkedIn
Share
Twitter
Follow Me

Our Most Popular Content

  • First-Time Home Buyer TipsFirst-Time Home Buyer Tips I’ve put together 15 First-Time Home Buyer Tips for you
  • Trilogy at Rio VistaTrilogy at Rio Vista Over 55 Community Have you been thinking about moving to a senior
  • A Homeowners Guide to Home Insurance A Homeowners Guide to Home Insurance Does Your Insurance Cover That? No one likes to
  • Real Estate - Home » Blog » Real Estate » You Just Listed Your Home, Now What? You Just Listed Your Home, Now What? You Just Listed Your Home, Now What? While listing and selling your home can feel
  • What $500,000 Will Buy You In Brentwood, CA vs. San Jose, CA What $500,000 Will Buy You In Brentwood, CA vs. San Jose, CA OK, we all know that buying a home
  • How Much Is My Home Worth? How Much Is My Home Worth? Get a FREE home valuation from expert

Blog Topics

  • FAQ's
  • Financing
  • Home Buyers
  • Home Improvement
  • Home Sellers
  • Homeowners
  • Libby and Ken Recommend
  • Local Communities
  • Page
  • Real Estate
  • Seasonal

guthriegrouphomes

Libby Guthrie, Realtor
@ Keller Williams 865-966-5005
🏡 Helping You Make the Move to Knoxville
📱 Cell: 865-364-0200
🏡 Good People, Great Homes!

Want to sell your home quickly and for top dollar? Want to sell your home quickly and for top dollar? These proven strategies will put you on the fast track to a speedy sale! 🏎️Schedule a FREE home value assessment—and let’s make your sale a success!📲 865-364-0200
📧 Libby@GuthrieGroupHomes.com#RealEstate #RealEstateAgent #HomeSellerTips #SellYourHomeFast #MarketReady
Are you dreaming of owning a home but unsure if yo Are you dreaming of owning a home but unsure if you’ll qualify for a mortgage? 🏡✨Here are some ways to boost your chances!✅ Improve Your Credit Score – Pay bills on time & dispute any errors.
💳 Lower Your Debt – Less debt = a stronger application.
💰 Look Into Home Buyer Programs – You may qualify for assistance!
📝 Consider a Co-Signer – A trusted family member could help secure your loan.Ready to take the next step? Check out our blog for more tips! [Link in Bio]#RealEstate #RealEstateAgent #HomeBuyingTips #MortgageReady #FirstTimeHomeBuyer
Follow on Instagram

Hours & Info – Guthrie Group Homes, Real Estate

Location
191 Sand Creek Rd #100,
Brentwood, CA 94513

Contact Us
info@guthriegrouphomes.com
Office: (925) 628-2436

Broker:
Keller Williams East County

Real Estate License
Lic #01117537

Hours
Monday - 9AM–5PM
Tuesday - 9AM–5PM
Wednesday - 9AM–5PM
Thursday - 9AM–5PM
Friday - 9AM–5PM

Weekends by Appointment
Call (925) 628-2436

See Location

Real Estate Menu
How We Market Your House
Home Search
Blog
Sitemap
FAQs

Search Here

Visit our Sister Site in Knoxville Tennessee

Libby Guthrie Real Estate, Knoxville TN
Libby Guthrie Realtor, Knoxville TN

Guthrie Group Homes, Knoxville TN

Discover the history, beauty, and affordability of the Greater Knoxville area. Each neighborhood in Knoxville has its own charm and is worth exploring to get a true sense of the city's diverse character!

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Location
  • About
  • How Much Is My Home Worth?

Copyright © 2025 · Guthrie Group Homes, Real Estate · Lic #01117537 · 925-628-2436 · Brentwood, Antioch and Oakley, California · Log in

If your home is currently listed or you are a buyer represented by another real estate agent, this website, article, or blog post is for informational purposes only.

It is not our intention to solicit the offerings or clients of other real estate agents or brokers.

All information on this site is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.

Terms of Use  | Cookies Policy | Privacy Policy | Advertising Policy | Accessibility

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy