Residential Lenders

Aames Financial Corporation AllQuest.com Corporation Altiva Financial Corporation AMC Financial, Inc. AMERICA FIRST REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT PARTNER L.P. American Asset Management Corporation Amnet Mortgage Incorporated Amresco, Inc. Amstar Financial Services, Inc. Apponline.com, Inc. Banque Solfea Bear Stearns Secured Investors Inc. BNC Mortgage, Inc. Chastain Capital Corporation CML Church Mortgage, Inc. Conseco Finance Corp. Cornerstone Mortgage Investment Group Countrywide Financial Corporation Countrywide Financial Corporation Credit Depot Corporation Delta Financial Corporation Doral Financial Corporation E-Net Financial.com EMB CORP Equitable Group, Inc. Fannie Mae Fccc, Inc. Fhb Foldhitel - ES Jelzalogbank RT Finance All Corporation Finet.com, Inc.

First Alliance Corporation First Cash Financial Services, Inc. First Church Financing Corporation First Connecticut Capital Corp Fog Cutter Capital Group, Inc. Franchise Mortgage Acceptance Company Freddie Mac GB Property Funding Corp. Greenpoint Financial Corporation Headlands Mortgage Company Heritage Management, Inc. Home Bancorp Home Financial Bancorp Homeside Lending, Inc. Hong Kong Building & Loan Agency Limited (the) Hypo Real Estate Holding Indian Village Bancorp, Inc. Innes Street Financial Intervest Corporation of New York Kensington Group Plc Knight Fuller, Inc. Lahaina Acquisitions, Inc. LEONBERGER BAUSPARKASSE AG Lexington B & L Financial Corp. Lomas Financial Corporation Long Beach Financial Corporation Loyola Capital Corporation Massbank Corp. Matzel & Mumford Mortgage Funding, Inc. Metropolitan Financial Corporation

MGIC Investment Corporation Mortgage.com MPEL Holdings Corp. National Trustco Inc New Century Financial Corpporation Newstate Holdings Nykredit Mortgage Bank Plc Ocwen Financial Corporation PacificAmerica Money Center Paragon Group OF Companies Plc (the) Pinnacle Bancshares, Inc. PMCC Financial Corp. Resource Bancshares Mortgage Rock Financial Corporation Saxon Capital, Inc. Silverado Financial, Inc. Southbanc Shares Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. Southern Pacific Funding Corporation Stadshypotek Ab Strategic Mortgage Investments, Inc. Thomas Equipment, Inc. Transnational Financial Corporation United Bancshares, Inc. UNITED COS FINANCIAL CORPORATION United Financial Mortgage Corp. Washtenaw Group, Inc. Wells Fargo Mgt WMF Group, Ltd. Xceed Mortgage Company

Guide to Residential Lenders

Score the best possible deal from residential mortgage companies
By A.S. White

Whether you’re purchasing your next owner-occupied property or an investment home for your portfolio, chances are you’re going to need to work with someone in mortgage lending. While your residential lender should work with you to match you with the best home mortgage for your situation, it’s important that you have a keen understanding of the industry in order to garner the best deal from mortgage lending institutions.

To select from the plethora of residential mortgage lenders who are available, you need to know the basics of the kind of mortgage you want. You need to know the length, terms and rate that will make your property work for your budget. Once you know these, you can shop among the residential mortgage companies available for the one that will work for you.

When looking at various residential lenders, among the key points to consider in your search are:

1. The type of home mortgage you wish to obtain;
2. The contents of your credit report that home mortgage companies will pull;
3. The special circumstances that drive your search for a second mortgage lender.

Action Steps

The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Know your mortgage needs and budget - and stick with them When dealing with residential mortgage lenders, it's important to know ahead of time what you really can afford. Often, mortgage lending institutions will loan you more money than is really wise to accept. But if you know what you have to spend and what type of mortgage you're looking for before you even sit down, you're way ahead of the curve in getting a great deal on a home mortgage.

I recommend:  E-Loan offers online applications for its mortgage products. In addition, it offers several mortgage tools to help you choose the right mortgage for your needs. Well-known residential lenders include the LendingTree and Wells Fargo.

Make certain that you apply with the appropriate residential mortgage companies for your credit In a perfect world, everyone would have clean credit. Because we instead live in the real world, though, things aren't so perfect. If you have less-than-perfect credit, it can seem impossible to find residential lenders willing to work with you; they are out there, though.

I recommend:  Total Bankruptcy can help you connect with residential mortgage firms that specialize in post-bankruptcy mortgage lending.

Choose a second mortgage lender that fits your unique needs If you're in the market for a second mortgage loan instead of a primary, your search can be much more difficult. It doesn't have to be impossible, though. There are several second mortgage lenders available who are willing to cash out your home equity for a variety of reasons.

I recommend:  Ditech is one of the home mortgage companies that offers second mortgage loans for a flat fee. This can save you overall over lenders who charge more in closing costs and/or roll them into your second mortgage loan.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• Always read the fine print. Some residential lenders will try to slip fees and charges in without really discussing them with you. Among the most popular are repayment penalties.