How to Avoid Buyer’s Remorse With Your Mortgage
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How to Avoid Buyer’s Remorse With Your Mortgage

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More than 25 percent of first-time homebuyers are unhappy with the lender that they chose to help them secure financing for their house, according to a  new report from J.D. Power.

Among all homebuyers, the percentage drops to 21 percent of customers, the survey finds. Despite those regrets, overall consumer satisfaction with mortgage lenders was higher than last year.

For the seventh-consecutive year, Quicken Loans ranked the best among all borrowers in satisfaction, followed by CitiMortgage and Ditech Financial.

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The survey also revealed some steps that consumers can take to prevent borrower’s remorse. Borrowers who received quotes before they began house hunting and those who shopped around for their mortgage reported higher satisfaction than borrowers who didn’t take those steps.

Setting aside lender satisfaction, it’s smart to shop around for a lender to make sure you’re getting the best rate. Most realtors also recommend that you find a lender before you start house hunting as well, since it gives you a realistic idea of what you can afford to spend, and being pre-approved can make you a more competitive buyer when it’s time to make an offer.

Fewer Americans have been applying for mortgage in recent months, as fewer homeowners look to refinance because those who can have already taken advantage of continued low rates. Those rates may not last, however. Mortgage rates spiked by a quarter of a point this week following the election of Donald Trump, an increase that’s “nearly unheard of in modern economic history,” according to Mortgage News Daily.

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