For Mortgage Shoppers, Less Can Be More

THE Internet can help simplify many financial transactions, though not always when it comes to home mortgages. Those who sign up for information at mortgage Web sites have found themselves receiving a flood of calls and e-mail messages from brokers and lenders soliciting business.

But that trend seems to be changing. Refinance.com, which made its debut early this year, promises to simplify the process for those refinancing their mortgages, by connecting each borrower with just one lender, and says it plans eventually to extend the service to all mortgage borrowers.


Now Google is offering a similar service. The company’s new mortgage search feature, which has been in limited testing since 2009, expanded last month to serve New York andNew Jersey borrowers (though people may have trouble accessing the site during the testing period). It now serves Web users in 38 states, though not yet Connecticut.

For now, by bookmarking https://www.google.com/comparisonads/mortgages, borrowers will see a list of various lenders and mortgage products with current rates and costs. The page lists loan offers — including closing costs — from several lenders, along with their fees and the monthly payment that would be required. Borrowers can quickly tailor that page to their own qualifications — like down payment, credit rating and loan type — and the loan offers change almost instantly.

The chief difference between Google’s mortgage search service and many others is that, at this point, borrowers can choose to receive an offer from a single lender, which does not have the borrower’s direct contact information.

The loan offer is semibinding for the lender. As long as the borrower’s information does not change all that much from that shown on the original screen, Google will hold the lender accountable for the terms shown, said Paul Todd, a director of product management for Google.

*** Article by: Bob Tedeschi, NY Times