Home Equity Loan Online

How can I find the best home equity loan online mortgage rate?

One of the best Web site for interest rates in general and specifically for mortgages is Bank Rate Monitor, found at www.bankrate.com. Bank Rate monitors both surveys area lenders for mortgage rates while at the same time providing a venue for mortgage companies-brokers as well as bankers- to advertise on the same page.

The mortgage section lets you select which major city and state your property is located in, wether you want a conforming or jumbo quote, and breaks down fixed and adjustable rate mortgages. If you live in San Diego, you will fill in your city and state, click on your mortgage requirements, and voila, lists upon lists of mortgage rate quotes. On these rate quotes you'll see loan parameters, such as the rate, the APR, how long the rate is good for, when the rate was posted, plus any other comments lenders may add, such as, "We specialize in loans for hamster farmers!"

One thing you'll notice is that there are a great many lenders who advertise on the Internet, and you've probably never heard most of them. Is thata bad thing? Of course not, but you need to scrutinize these people with a tad more diligence that lenders who were referred to you by your agent or by your friends. Is Big Shot Mortgage offering 7 percent? Do you think Big Shot Mortgage has a special edge on the mortgage market? Of course they don't. But there are some ways to help qualify those companies you see advertising on the Internet.

First, visit their Web site. Easy enough, right? But you're not looking for key terms such as "we offer great rates" and "we offer great service" or any other such patter. Instead, compare the interest rates quotes on their Web site with the ones that are advertised online. Do they match up? If they do, are they for the same date? You can't compare interest rates unless they're for the same date, and even then the markets may have changed. If you get interest rates that are much different on the company's Web site than you see advertised in other places, take their advertisement with a grain of salt.