Fargo Real Estate Investing & Real Estate Financial Planning™ Podcast · James Orr

Secrets of Comparing Mortgages and Lenders

·58 min·4 clips

A lender who says they’ve never had a problem is a red flag, not a selling point.

Compare lenders with matching inputs. James Orr says mortgage shopping works better when it is less about asking who has the best rate and more like running a clean side-by-side test. He starts with one email template. The request asks for a loan estimate on a new purchase, for a home to live in, with five percent down and a purchase price in the $350,000 range. Six lenders reply. One lender, even with an existing relationship with the host, never replies, and that counts. If someone cannot answer clearly at the shopping stage, Orr wants buyers to notice it. The sample request stays specific. It asks lenders to assume a 730 credit score, account for debt-to-income ratios, and include options for buying down the interest rate. PMI belongs in the comparison too. So do insurance estimates, property taxes, HOA fees, and the number of properties owned, because those can move the real numbers. The loan program also has to be clear. FHA, conventional, USDA, and VA loans do not compare cleanly unless every lender is quoting the same setup. Give each lender the same scenario. A vague note to one person and a detailed purchase profile to another will not teach you much. This stays practical: ask for comparable loan estimates, see who responds, and compare the numbers without letting each lender define the homework.

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