It’s been a tough couple years for borrowers who are looking to secure a home loan or to refinance an existing loan. Today, the Wall Street Journal reports in the article “Where to Find the Money,” that “…U.S. banks posted a 7.5 percent decline in 2009 in total loans outstanding — the steepest drop since 1942 — and consumer lending fell by 3.8 percent as roughly 7,200 banks and credit unions pulled back on mortgages, credit cards and other loans.”
What is interesting, according to the article, is that while the largest 10 percent of banks by asset size shrank their consumer lending by 4.7 percent, consumer loans actually grew nearly 3 percent at smaller financial institutions — the ones that fell in the bottom 50 percent of the industry in assets. Seems like there is some money to be had if borrowers know where to look.
That’s just part of the beauty of using Zillow Mortgage Marketplace to shop for a home loan. Zillow’s network of lenders range from individual brokerage firms and small local banks to the larger, national banks. Borrowers simply submit an anonymous loan request and receive custom quotes from a wide range of financial institutions almost instantly. Even better, borrowers can compare all of these quotes on an apples-to-apples basis inclusive of all fees, and review lender ratings and reviews before deciding which lender to contact.
As the WSJ writes, the trick to getting a good deal on a loan is to compare costs and there is no easier way to do so than on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace.