When you have all of the mortgage bids, line them up against one another and figure out which one is the best deal for you.  Don’t stop there, though!  Call some of the “losing” mortgage brokers and mortgage lenders and let them know what your best deal is on the table.  You will be surprised at how often the mortgage lenders can come back with a better deal.  When buying his current house, Mr. Thrifty was able to get a full ¼ point off of his mortgage by shopping his best deal around.

A second thing to do is ask ask ask!  This is a lesson that all of us seemed to know as kids but have forgotten as adults.  A good example of this are the fees associated with a mortgage.  Be sure that you understand what each fee is when you compare different mortgages.  If you don’t know what something is, just ask.  Once you understand what a fee is, ask to see if you can get it waived.  You may be surprised at the things that you can get taken off of your closing statement.  Many of these fees are the mortgage industry’s equivalent of rust proofing and fabric protectant that new car dealers have been scamming with for years.  In many cases you can get these waived or reduced.