[photopress:693_kick_tire.jpg,thumb,alignright]What?  I’m writing about something I don’t agree with in principle?  True.  I think that many people are spinning their perfectly good wheels in order to try to find a rate they cannot have unless they’re prepared to lock at the precise moment they are shopping.  But, the practice of rate shopping and kicking the tires of Loan Originators appears to be a necessary evil in the mortgage process. 

Here’s my advice, if you feel you must shop rates.

Step 1:  Contact at least three different people you trust financially and ask for referrals.   I suggest family members, friends, co-workers, your real estate agent, CPA, Financial Planner, etc.   Ask your sources what they liked and did not like about their Loan Originator.   Gather their contact information and visit their web sites and blogs, if they have one.  

Step 2:  Prepare your personal financial story.  You’ll need to retell the exact scenario to each Loan Originator so they can each provide you a rate based on the same information.   If you just want to see how skinny someone will quote a rate to you, you can make up a vanilla story of “I’m putting 20% down on a $500,000 house.  My mid credit score is 700 and I would like a 30 year fixed rate with no origination or discount points, please.  I would like the loan priced with a 30 day lock