Q: I’m really excited that the prices have come down on Vashon enough that I can finally buy a home of my own.

Ever since my divorce my two kids and I have been at the mercy of landlords and I’m sick of it. Plus, I can’t have pets and the kids really want a dog or cat. My question is this; how do I find a reliable lender in these uneasy financial times? They all seem to offer the same basic interest rates. I applied at my bank but they haven’t really been forthcoming with what the true cost of the loan will be and that makes me nervous.

A: You’re wise to shop around for your loan. These days it’s almost a given that an offer to purchase a home will be accompanied by a pre-approval letter from the buyers lender. It’s always best to have that all sorted out before you make an offer. Interest rates are an important part of deciding on a loan, of course, but you’re right that most lenders, banks, credit unions, and mortgage brokers offer close to the same rates.

What can be very different are your closing costs. I just had a client pre-approved with a lender for 1.5 points. That represents one and a half percent of the loan. Banks will call these points, fees, or other names but they all mean a percent of the loan. In the case of this client that would have cost him $6,375.00. Add to that his pre-paid taxes, insurance and reserves of one kind or another, plus the cost of the credit check and the appraisal, as well as miscellaneous fees the bank charges and his total cost would have been just shy of $10,000. I recommended that he check with other lenders and he found one that charged him less than half that amount. That’s a huge difference!

Find a lender who comes highly recommended and one with whom you feel comfortable sharing all of your financial information. You’ll be working closely with this person so you need to trust them.