Why You Should Be Shopping Around For A Mortgage

The start of a new year is a popular time for setting resolutions around personal finances. There is an increased sense of urgency if one of your goals is to buy a home.

Downloading a budgeting app is a common first step in assessing your complete financial picture. Categorizing your spending might seem like a logical step for analyzing where your dollars are going. Still, many users fail to engage with the app thoroughly and get minimal benefits.

Anish Acharya, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, explained on the company's website that personal finance management tools had not seen the adoption most expected. He asserted that "too often, these budgeting apps are akin to calorie counting — it's usually easier just to uninstall the app than to change our financial choices."

What are the other options if budgeting apps don't help consumers with the seismic shift they need to see to meet their goals? Is it even possible to save thousands of dollars yearly without dramatically changing your financial behavior?

The short answer for individuals or families considering buying or building a home is "Yes." It is possible by doing one thing: committing yourself to effectively shopping for a mortgage.

Why comparison shop?

Consumers compare nearly every purchase, including clothing, hotels, and flights. According to research by Expedia, travelers, on average, search for a trip 48 times before booking. Or, consider the experiences you've had shopping for a car. You might be willing to visit a dealership five, 10, or 20 miles away if you knew you'd save significantly on the price, right?

So how can consumers be content to see one loan offer and move forward without shopping around?

I believe it's a mix of two longstanding factors:

1. Most homebuyers get connected to a mortgage expert through a referral from a family member or friend and feel bad for questioning that recommendation.

2. They don't feel confident they know enough about loans and lending to ask the right questions when comparing numbers.

In 2015, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau reported that "almost half of the consumers who take out a mortgage fail to shop before filling out an application." Nearly 50% of homebuyers are willing to make the most substantial financial investment of their lives without ensuring they get the best deal. Mortgage rates can vary between lenders by as much as 1%. Rates can vary within the same financial institution, depending on which loan originator you work with.

This fluctuation is possible because a lender's interest rate is mainly determined by the commission they pay their salesperson (often referred to as a "loan officer"). Many lenders allow their loan officers to choose from different commission plans.

For example, if you lower the interest rate on a $300,000 mortgage by 0.25% (e.g., 3.875% to 3.625%), you will save $747 your first year and $7,135 in the first ten years of your mortgage. That money can go toward other financial goals, like retirement savings or a child's college tuition.

The Bottom Line

It's critical buyers know all of their mortgage options. If you shop around, you can save a substantial amount of money each month and don't need to change how you manage your finances.

When the time comes to purchase a home, don't settle for the first lender that you're referred to. Instead, shop for your mortgage like you would for any other big purchase, and you'll get all the benefits savings apps to espouse without all the work.