Mortgage Refinance Guide

The Internet is an excellent tool for refinancing your mortgage; however, there are a number of pitfalls you need to be aware of before using your personal information online. Here are several tips to help keep you safe when mortgage refinancing using the Internet.

The Internet Makes Researching Mortgage Lenders Easy

Nearly every mortgage company and broker has an online website where you can compare interest rates and loan offers. The main advantage of using the Internet to refinance your mortgage is the ease of access. You can access websites 24 hours a day, every day of the week. Using the Internet you can quickly research loan offers from dozens of online mortgage companies and brokers.

Avoid Banks When Mortgage Refinancing

Never take out a mortgage loan from a bank. Banks are exempt from disclosure laws in the United States that protect homeowners from predatory lending practices. If you refinance your mortgage with a bank you will never know if the bank is giving you a fair interest rate for the loan. Banks routinely mark up their interest rates to make a profit on the secondary market; because of loopholes in the disclosure laws the Bank will never tell you what this markup is.

Online Mortgage Portals Provide Quotes from Multiple Lenders

Another advantage of mortgage refinancing online is that you can receive multiple quotes from one site without having lenders access your credit. It is important to have as few credit inquiries on your record as possible when refinancing to qualify for the best mortgage interest rate. Before allowing a lender to access your credit you should request credit reports from each of the three credit agencies and carefully review your records for errors.

Beware Unsolicited Mortgage Offers When Refinancing Online

There are a large number of scams online; however, it is easy to avoid being taken advantage of online. If you receive unsolicited mortgage offers or email spam, never respond to these messages. You should always initiate contact with a mortgage company or broker and never enter personal information online unless you are certain that website uses a secure connection to encrypt your information. When you visit a secure website there will be a small padlock in your browser status bar to let you know the information you enter will be encrypted and cannot be intercepted.

You can learn more about mortgage refinancing online, including costly mistakes to avoid by registering for our free mortgage guidebook:

“Five Things You Need to Know before Refinancing Your Mortgage.”