Ask The Things You Want To Know Up Front - Before You Fill Out The Forms

Online, June 6, 2011 (Newswire.com) - When you are applying for a loan of any kind, the lender isn't the only one who should be asking the questions. There are questions you should ask the lender as well.

1. What will you do to protect my credit score?

2. What is the rate on this loan, and will you provide a written lock on the rate, points and fees?

3. Will I be charged points? Points are not connected to interest rate; they are marketing fees that pay for overhead for the lender. This is why online lenders offer much lower rates.

4. What documentation will you need? No matter the lender, you will have to provide a lot of personal information in order to even be considered for the loan. If possible, get a copy of the forms or a list of what the lender will need and see if you can compare that against what other lenders require to make sure they're not requesting anything unusual.

5. How will this loan be paid - and can I prepay? You'll want to know if you can pay an additional amount on your loan payment so that you can work toward paying off the balance early. If a lender doesn't allow you to prepay, you should look elsewhere for your loan.

6. What is the appeal process? If you are turned down or there's some problem with the loan process, you need to know the procedure for registering a complaint.

7. If you are applying for a mortgage loan, you will want to know what the average time is to closing. Conventional mortgage lenders can take a long time to process a loan. Find out how long up front.

8. With mortgage loans, it's also important to find out how your down payment will affect the cost of the loans. If you put down less than 20 percent, you'll have to pay for private mortgage insurance.

If you find a lender or the customer service personnel you're dealing with can't answer your questions, you might want to consider going elsewhere.