Stop! Before you look up mortgage companies up in your phone book, check out the offers online. Getting a mortgage online can save you some serious money. When you lookup mortgage companies only in your area, you're greatly restricting the competetive pool of companies to offer you a good loan. It's easy to get quotes online, compare them, and simply take the best offer. When you go and visit local mortgage companies, however, you have a very small subset of competetors that just can't afford to compete on the world wide.

Before you talk to a lender, you need to know a few terms. A point is 1 percent of the loan. If you think that you may want to refinance at a later time, be sure to ask if there is something called an early payment fee. Of course, you need to way these fees in with the interest rate. One lender may advertise a low low interest rate, but they may have early payment fees, points, and closing costs that a different lender does not. There's more to a loan that just an interest rate.

Be careful not to fall for mortgage companies that offer no closing costs. They usually will have a higher interest rate. You need to get your calculator out and compute what the long term cost will be of having a higher interest rate. Perhaps the long term is not as important to you however, and in that case a no cost loan may be for you. If, on the other hand, you have the money upfront to pay for the closing costs, then a lower interest rate can be more appealing to you than a no cost loan.

There are many places to get a home loan online. A bad credit rating does not mean that you can't own a home. Many mortgage companies will cater to those with poor credit rating. When you look online for a mortgage company, plan on checking out the rates of at least 20 or more companies. The two or three hours you spend filling out forms for each mortgage company can be well worth your time. In the long term, a good interest rate can save you thousands of dollars. Right down the response and offer that you get from each mortage company and go with the one that saves you the most money.