One, speak with a broker. They can do one credit pull and try multiple sources for prospective loans. With a broker you’re not tied down to one program.

Two, the government has adjusted the rules with regard to credit pulls. Credit checks for a home loan made within a three-month period only count as one credit pull, and affect your credit only once. The same goes for auto loan credit checks.

Also, don’t ask that same old question, "What interest rate can I get?" What interest rate do you want? Brokers make their money one of two ways–from the borrower, in the form of a brokerage fee, or from the lender, in the form of points. These points are incentives from the lender to give a higher interest rate to the borrower.

Example: Joe Smith wants to get a 100,000 dollar loan, but he doesn’t want to pay a broker fee. He goes to see ABC Mortgage Brokerage, who has a policy (pretty standard) of obtaining 2% on every loan they do (in other words, they want to make 2,000 on the deal).

The mortgage broker finds the program that best fits Joe, and sees three options he can present to him. One gives him a 5.5% interest rate, but nets 0 in points. Thus, to make his money, he must get 2% from Joe in the form of a brokerage fee. Another gives Joe a 6.5% interest rate, with one point, and he charges Joe a $1,000 brokerage fee, or 1%. Finally, he can give Joe a 7% interest rate, and charge Joe nothing.

This is oversimplified, but it’s basically the way that it works. That’s why I used to laugh when someone would call and ask me what the interest rate was that day. I would reply, "What do you want it to be?"

Good luck. Feel free to message me if you need any help.

2) Evaluate your equity in your home. How big of a risk are you? E.g. if you only owe $10,000 on a $200,000 home, you’re in better shape than if you owe $150,000.

3) Talk to your local bank, or mortgage broker. The advantage of a broker is that they will only pull your credit report once. But they can be more expensive for low qualified applicants, so be CAREFUL. Your bank (unless they’re $%#heads) should be willing to talk to you based on your vredit report statements, and give you an idea of whether it’s worth proceeding, without pulling a report of their own.