NO, your applications within a short period of time to various mortgage lenders will not adversely affect your credit score. They all assume that you are shopping around. That has not always been the case, but fortunately it is expected now that people will shop for the best rates and terms. By the way, please ask for the APR (Annualize Percentage Rate) in writing from each source because that is really the only way to compare the packages. That rate is supposed to include ALL of the fees and points (pre-paid interest) together to let you know what the REAL interest rate will be. Otherwise it is a guessing game. You may or may not wish to pay any points to buy down your rate mostly depending on how long you believe that you will stay in this home. There is a break even point out several years that until which you would have been better off paying the higher rate before you actually start saving money.
There are really good mortgage brokers and some not so good as well. We recommend that you check Coldwell Banker Real Estate Mortgage as one of the options. You can access that contact number on the
http://www.ColdwellBanker.com website. They are usually very competitive and may even offer a guaranteed lowest rate.
If this is your first home purchase, please be aware that you should qualify for up to a $7500 tax credit rebate. Congress will be debating whether that will eventually need to be repaid over many, many years, or maybe not at all if they modify the current law as they are considering. Good luck to you.
- Mon Nov 17 2008, 14:57