Ask questions before taking a mortgage

No doubt about it, we’re a society of consumers. Funny thing about how we spend our money, though. While the rise of the internet has given us more bargaining power than ever to make smarter financial decisions, there’s still one arena where most people don’t question the old conventional wisdom — and that has to do with perhaps the largest purchase of all: mortgage loans.

“In today’s economy, I believe it’s critical that homebuyers know they have options when it comes to getting a mortgage loan,” said Rick Piette, owner of Las Vegas-based Premier Mortgage Lending. “But for decades, banks have conditioned the public to just accept that they have to pay huge fees simply to get a loan — over and above the interest rate they’re already paying. That’s a difficult mindset to overcome, and it has become so ingrained that most times, borrowers don’t even question it.

“One of the reasons they don’t ask their mortgage lender these (potentially very expensive) questions is because their Realtor or homebuilder may have sent them to one particular company to get their loan,” Piette said. “Since the person who referred them is someone they trust about the home they’re buying, it’s only natural to assume they’re recommending them to this lender because it’s where they’ll get the best loan, right?

“But not so fast,” Piette said. “Because in truth, it’s not uncommon for there to be a financial incentive involved in that referral — and it’s very possible that your loan can actually cost you more money because of it. Because that’s so important to understand, it’s one of the topics we cover in the collection of short, informational videos we created on our KnowBeforeYouOweNevada.com website.

Piette said: “I tell all borrowers right upfront there are only two things that matter in getting the best deal on a mortgage loan: The interest rate, and the cost of the fees. The interest rate matters after you close, the fees matter before. The prepaid and reserves items on a loan estimate should be the same no matter which lender you use, as those address property taxes, HOA (homeowners association) dues, and other fixed items that go with the property itself. But the fees and the interest rate can vary widely.

“However, at Premier Mortgage we’ve got a very simple policy — our ‘No Fee’ loan is exactly that. For every traditional Loan Estimate we provide, it literally shows $0 for the loan origination, underwriting, document and prep fees.

“And we don’t make up for those $0 in fees by raising your interest rate, as many lenders do. In fact, mortgage brokers are legally prohibited from doing that. While banks and mortgage bankers can charge you hidden fees they don’t have to tell you about, mortgage brokers, like Premier, must disclose all their income to the borrower on every loan.”

The cost of some lenders’ fees can be 2 percent to 4 percent or more of the loan amount. That amounts to literally thousands of dollars many borrowers could have easily avoided paying at closing.

For additional information, call 702-485-6600. Or, apply online at www.premiermortgagelending.com. To discover facts on how much a mortgage loan “should cost you” — visit www.KnowBeforeYouOweNevada.com

Premier Mortgage Lending, NMLS No. 393282, is at 701 N. Green Valley Parkway, Suite 125 in Henderson. The full-service lender is a member of the Las Vegas, Henderson and Boulder City chambers of commerce, Better Business Bureau and Southern Nevada Home Builders Association, as well as an affiliate member of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors.