In a recent Washington Post article by Robert McCartney (dtg.fm/43iJ), the importance of careful shopping when it comes to real estate transactions was made clear. The article points to lawsuits currently being brought against individuals accused of arranging kickbacks for steering business to specific companies, arrangements that homebuyers can end up paying for in the form of higher title, mortgage, or other fees.
Real estate agents that push buyer traffic to a specific title company, mortgage lenders that funnel business to specific mortgage insurers; it's not allowed but it can still happen, and home buyers are usually the ones that unknowingly pick up the tab. As the article points out, it was largely during the earlier real estate boom that many of these practices got started, but it's still enough of a problem that more legal action is expected. For home buyers, the moral of the story is to shop around to ensure that you are getting the best deal. You may not have any way of knowing if there are back-door kickbacks going on, but you can still search for the best bottom-line deal to avoid being slapped with associated higher fees characteristic of such arrangements.
Loans4Less.com, a California-based online mortgage loan brokerage working on a national presence, taps a marketplace full of mortgage lenders, and represents a good starting point for identifying the best deal. The company goes out of its way to maintain its A+ TrustLink Rating with the Better Business Bureau, and does not quote rates, points, or closing costs that are not deliverable. The company focuses on Conforming and Jumbo "A" paper mortgages, and was recently ranked by Origination News as one of the top 2012 loan producers by dollar volume.
The company is in the process of expanding nationally, using their online technology as a highly functional platform for partnering across the country.
For more information, visit Loans4Less.com
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