Where Have All The Lenders Gone? Finding a Refinance Loan Today

Part of the fallout from the mortgage crisis is that some mortgage refinance lenders have gone out of business, shut branches, or toughened lending standards. Still, if refinance rates are low enough to save you money, don't let these obstacles stand in your way. Online resources can help you find a mortgage refinance lender, even when the lending environment itself is tough.

Five Tips for Finding a Mortgage Refinance Lender

Below are five tips for finding a refinance lender.

1. Make Maximum Use of Online Resources. For starters, online resources make it easy to locate lenders who are active in your area. Take advantage of this to do some comparison shopping on refinance rates, and beyond that, use online tools like refinance calculators to figure out the cost-effectiveness of refinancing, and whether you could afford to get a lower refinance rate by choosing a shorter mortgage term. Also, use informational resources to read up on the latest mortgage news and tips.


2. Broaden Your Geographic Horizons. Even with the Internet, geographic barriers do come into play somewhat because of state regulations, and refinance rates will vary by region depending on housing market conditions. However, online resources allow you to search for lenders well beyond your local community. Especially if you are refinancing with less-than-stellar credit, broadening out the field of possibilities can be critical.


3. Do Your Own Background Checks. No doubt, any lender you apply to will be doing background checks on you. By the same token, you should do a background check on prospective mortgage refinance lenders. Scan the Web for information about complaints or litigation. Search news stories for unfavorable publicity. If the lender is part of a public company, look up how the stock has done--if the stock has been tanking lately, it could be a symptom of financial troubles which might affect the handling of your loan down the road. Finally, use government regulatory resources to make sure the institution is licensed and in good standing to do business in your state.


4. Understand the Market for Refinance Rates. Online resources make it easy to compare refinance rates among lenders, but understand the broader market as well. Look at current and historical differences between 15-year and 30-year rates: is this an environment that favors shorter or longer loans? Look at where refinance rates are compared to historical norms: if rates are unusually low, you may want to jump on refinancing as soon as possible. Understand whether rates have been rising or falling lately: this may affect whether you act quickly or hang back. Based on the quotes you get from lenders, see whether their rates are tightly bunched or all over the map: if there is a wide variation, you may benefit from getting more quotes.


5. Understand How Your Situation Affects Refinance Rates. Understand your own income and credit situation, and how it affects refinance rates. First of all, even if you've had some problems, you will seem more in control of your situation if you demonstrate that you fully understand it, as opposed to playing dumb and letting the credit check reveal the bad news. Also, know whether it's possible that an improvement in your credit score is on the horizon, because waiting for this could save you substantially on refinance rates.

About the Author:
Richard Barrington has been a businessman and writer for a quarter century. Shortly after graduating Magna Cum Laude from St. John Fisher College in 1983, Richard joined Manning & Napier Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor. Starting in an entry-level operations position, he worked his way up to become head of marketing and client service, an owner of the firm, and a member of its governing Executive Committee. His efforts contributed to the firms growth from slightly over $1 billion in assets under management when he joined, to over $12 billion in 2006. While at Manning & Napier, Richard earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation from the Association of Investment Management and Research (now the CFA Institute").

In August, 2006, Richard retired from the investment business to pursue a writing career. He has worked primarily as a freelance writer on a variety of business topics, while also writing manuscripts for three books.