Mortgage Money Sites

Online mortgage loan sites that offer direct access to loans come in three basic varieties: direct or single lenders, auction sites, and multilender shopping sites.

Direct or single lender sites. Most mortgage websites are direct lender sites. These include mortgage lenders such as Countrywide (http://www.countrywide.com) as well as all-purpose banks that make mortgage loans, like Wells Fargo (http://www.wellsfargo.com) and Bank of America (http://www.bankofamerica.com).

If, for whatever reason, you've already decided to borrow from a particular lender, you might start with a visit to its website. You'll soon realize, however, that these lenders rarely provide complete product information (points, fees, lock periods, and the like) online. For that, you'll need to call or visit the lender.

Auction sites. Some mortgage sites allow you to complete a loan application, which is then sent to lenders who, in turn, compete for your business. Some of the lenders are sub-prime lenders, making these sites a possible choice for you if your credit is damaged. You won't get immediate feedback, but must wait a day or so for several offers. To compare more loans, you'll have to repeat the process on each site. Auction sites include LendingTree.com, GetSmart.com, and RealEstate.com.

Multilender shopping sites. With multilender shopping sites, you need not complete an application before you shop for a mortgage. Examples of such sites include http://www.loanshop.com and http://www.eloan.com. You enter the loan amount, property details, and other information, and you'll get current rates, APR, points, even settlement costs for each loan from dozens of lenders. You can sort loans by each factor. You can also put loans side by side and make apples-to-apples comparisons of interest rate adjustments, margins, life caps, year-by-year payment totals, and interest costs and tax benefits.

If you choose to complete an application, mortgage shopping sites review your application, process the required documentation, and ship your loan to the lender for further review and underwriting. Be warned, however -- many consumers report dissatisfaction with multilender sites, saying that they get second class treatment from the lender.