The home financing industry is filled with tons of mortgage providers and that variety of options can be confusing for a home buyer. While many consumers focus in on the obvious comparatives such as interest rates and closing costs associated with a potential home loan, there are other factors that need to be weighed when a consumer needs to choose a mortgage lender.

No two lenders are exactly alike and aside from the differences associated with a potential mortgage, consumers can expect variances in customer service, fees and day-to-day operations. With the growing number of mortgage seekers going online to find home loan opportunities, and websites like Mortgage Marvel making the task easier by providing consumers with mortgage rate comparison tables from an assortment of local lenders based on the zip code information entered, the mortgage industry's human touch has been lost. That is why it is up to mortgage shoppers to conduct their due diligence in regards to the lender selection process so they can better gauge the potential relationship they will have with the lender during the course of the home mortgage commitment.

Compare Oranges to Oranges

The 2011 real estate market has gotten off to a sluggish start and since less consumers are buying homes, mortgage lenders are struggling to acquire new business. That competitive nature is great for mortgage shoppers and low mortgage rates and fee reductions are being used as the bait to lure in a potential client. However, consumers are advised to crunch the numbers prior to signing on the dotted line and the best way is to crunch the numbers on a mortgage calculator to level the playing field and make sure the offers are on equal footing. Some factors to be included in this thought process are:

• Compare the annual percentage rate (APR) of homeloan opportunities.
• Review all lender produced good faith estimates (GFE) for a complete view on additional closing costs and fees associated with the loan transaction.
• Inquire about other potential expenses including prepayment penalties that may cost additional money down the road.

The process is two fold as it will not only provide home buyers with the finite numbers needed for the task, but also unearth the true personality of a lender in question. Mortgage lenders who do not produce documentation like a GFE in a timely manner may not only be disorganized, but may have disregard for the law while lenders who provide convoluted answers may be trying to hide something.

Consumers who may not have the time to manually do the math, can count on Mortgage Marvel, the industry's premiere mortgage rate origination tool, to assist in this task. The rate comparison tables provided as a result to a mortgage search query will automatically include accurate mortgage rates, fees and costs from a variety of potential lenders so consumers can simply glance and view honest side-by-side mortgage comparisons.

Conduct a Fact Finding Mission

Good or bad, each lender has a reputation and it is up to a borrower to find it out prior to making a financial obligation. There is no denying that conducting a search on a said organization and the name of the personal contact will expedite the process. Consumers can begin the task by entering the name of the lender in a search tool bar and seeing what web pages come up in relation to the name. When conducting this type of search, mortgage seekers should make sure to review the non-paid search results generated. Typically those results fall directly under the search term entered in non-shaded areas. The shaded results tend to be paid advertisements from the lenders and clicking on those will only show their side of the story (which may or may not be the truth).

Additional resources for checking out a lender's reputation includes checking out their history with the Better Business Bureau, the local Chamber of Commerce or conducting a word of mouth campaign among friends, family and former mortgage seekers.

Look For Service With a Smile

The most common home mortgage terms require a commitment of 30 years and if that relationship does not immediately get off to a good start, the future may be doomed. A gut reaction is often the best indicator of the future scenario so mortgage shoppers need to pay special attention to first impressions, attentiveness to your needs, timeliness of work-flow and clarity of communication. If any of those factors appear lackluster, a borrower will be better off looking elsewhere for mortgages.