Many first time home buyers don’t realize the power they have when shopping around for a mortgage. Mortgage lending is a highly competitive industry, even in times of housing market downturns. Hey, if a lender doesn’t get you the mortgage, the company doesn’t get that interest payment every month. Believe it or not, you’re in the driver’s seat when it comes to mortgage loan shopping. You’re the individual that lenders are looking for. So you have choices.

Golden rule: When mortgage shopping, there’s no deal you can’t walk away from. Again, you can always walk out the door and go to lender number two or three. Even in times of tight money and credit crunches, you have choices, options and power. Get a good faith estimate from your lender. Choose reputable lenders. And then remember,  this is a business deal so go with the best deal offered.

And remember this, even if you’ve never owned a home before. Once you own the home you can still shop around for a better deal – a no closing costs deal at a lower rate, or switch your low-rate ARM to a 30-year fixed and enjoy the peace of mind a fixed rate mortgage offers.