Check Those Fees Before You Sign For Your Mortgage

By Rick Greene

Home prices are going down and the economy is in a slump. A lot of homeowners are worried over the amount of debt they have incurred on their house during the good times, when prices kept going up.

On top of that, in the next few months a lot of fixed rate mortgages are ending and need to be renewed. This means you will have to talk to your lender about interest rates and conditions. Banks have incurred a lot of damage lately. Unlike the regular Joe, the banks get bailed out by billions of taxpayer dollars by the government. But despite these multi-billion stimulus plans, banks have yet to recover completely.

Before you go into the negotiations for a new mortgage, be sure to check what fees are quoted. Many mortgage fees have gone up the last couple of years. Also, if your credit score has gotten worse in the last few years, you may be confronted with a higher interest rates and higher monthly payments. If, on the other hand, you have equity in your home and a pretty clean credit history, you can get ready to negotiate with your lender.

Lenders want to keep clients with good payment histories. They know that these clients are reliable and worth far more than the occasional shopper or the clients with bad payment histories.

Prepare for the negotiations with your lender by browsing the Internet. Find the average interest rates quoted and look at the deals out there. Some fees may have gone up, and it's best you know that upfront.

When speaking to your lender, always demand to see the whole picture, with all the fees and costs included. Don't allow the lender to sneak some costs by you, because they will probably try that. You need to find out before the closing, otherwise you're going to be too late.

About the Author:

Rick is a broker writing about mortages and financial matters. He also writes about oversluiten hypotheken and hypotheek verlengen in Dutch.