If you are in the market for a new mortgage loan, careful comparison shopping can save you thousands of dollars if you go about it correctly. Many financial advisors will tell you to use the Annual Percentage Rate, or APR when comparison shopping; however, the APR simply does not give you enough information to make an informed decision as to which loan is best. Here are several tips to help you comparison shop using the Good Faith Estimate.

The Good Faith Estimate is a government regulated document that outlines estimated costs for the mortgage refinancing offers you consider. All of the expenses found on your mortgage refinancing Good Faith Estimate outline the anticipated origination fees, points, escrow fees, appraisal fees, title fees and insurance expenses for your loan. Mortgage lenders are required to provide you the good Faith Estimate along with a Truth in Lending statement within three days of receipt of your application for mortgage refinancing; however this doesnt help with actual comparison shopping.

The good news is that most mortgage companies and brokers will give you a copy of the Good Faith Estimate simply by requesting one. This allows you to collect Good Faith Estimates for each mortgage offer you consider and do a line-by-line comparison when mortgage refinancing. It is important to realize that the Good Faith Estimate is just an estimate; the actual figures on your settlement statement could change. Mortgage companies frequently try and slip one past you, so it is important to compare the settlement statement to the Good Faith Estimate and ask for an explanation of any changes.

So what should you look for on the Good Faith Estimate? First, locate the loan origination fee. The origination should not be more than 1-1.5% of your loan amount. Next, look for the loan processing fee. Your loan processing fee should never be more than $400, and if it is paid to a third party loan processor, their company name should be listed. Finally, make sure you are not paying Yield Spread Premium on your mortgage rate. What is Yield Spread Premium? This is the retail markup of your mortgage interest rate and according to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development costs homeowners in the United States $16 billion dollars every year in unnecessary mortgage interest.

How can you avoid paying Yield Spread Premium when mortgage refinancing? You can learn this and other costly mortgage refinancing mistakes to avoid by registering for a free, six part video tutorial.

To get your FREE six-part Mortgage Refinancing Tutorial, visit RefiAdvisor.com using the link below.

Louie Latour specializes in showing homeowners how to avoid costly mortgage mistakes and predatory lenders. To get your hands on this free video tutorial: “Mortgage Refinancing - What You Need to Know,” which teaches strategies to find the best mortgage and save thousands of dollars in the process, visit Refiadvisor.com.

Claim your free mortgage refinancing tutorial today at: http://www.refiadvisor.com

Good Faith Estimate