How many applications?

[Petunia]

I have been repairing my credit for over a year now. Only one baddie left, a paid CO from Cap1 (CO'ed in 2000, paid in 2003). Credit scores are good for both my DH and I. Last time I checked, 697 was my lowest. DH's are all 720 and above. Have a sizeable amount of money saved up. Will be putting down at least 10%.

So question is...how many banks, credit unions, etc should I apply at for pre-approval? For rate shopping, etc..I guess I didn't realize how expensive these apps are.

[firstsource]

The applications should not cost you anything. At worst, you should only have to pay for the credit report, which range from 15-30.00 each.

There is an alternative to the many credit report checks, in that you probably qualify for a conforming type loan. For those type loans, there are two general automated approval engines, one for Freddie Mac and the other for Fannie Mae. Once you have that approval, it is just a matter of which bank you want to go with. The difference in them is not only rates, but ease of doing the loan, so if you have time and patience, go with the lowest, if not, you will still get a good rate.

Hope that helps.

Charles

I think I did not answer your question exactly as you asked it. For 13 days after the first credit report is run, you will not have any additional "hits" to your credit score. After the 13 days, the process starts again.

[amortgageman]

Of course, you could call Charles, and he can become your "banks, lenders, etc. for you. With access to about 200 lenders, a broker can beat the bank 9 times out of 10.

He may appreciate an easy loan (or maybe forgot how )