Before you begin shopping for mortgage interest rates, it’s important to familiarize yourself with two of the common factors that will affect the terms of your loan: points and lock-in periods.

If you are simply contacting lenders and asking for information on their interest rates, you probably won’t be able to make even comparisons between different companies. One lender might quote you on a no-point loan, while another may give you the interest rate for a 2 point loan. Or a lender could quote you on a 7-day lock while another gives you the information for a 45-day lock. You need to tell each lender specifically what you’re looking for so you can get comparable quotes from several different lenders.

When you start calling mortgage companies, you need to know two things: how many points you would like to pay and how long you want to lock in your rate for. Even if you aren’t necessarily intent on locking in your rate, it’s important to give the same information to all lenders in order to receive comparable quotes. It’s also very important to call all of the lenders on your list on the very same day. Since rates don’t stay the same every day, calling lenders on different days will get you extremely different quote ranges.

When shopping around, you can’t place much trust in advertisements that you come across in your local paper, on television, or on the radio. These advertisements were most likely submitted a day in advance at the very least, and therefore, interest rates have probably changed since they were written.

Most ethical loan officers will give you a reliable quote when you contact them, even if they know that you’re shopping around. However, there are some lenders out there that aren’t always truthful. They may exaggerate their rates or promise things they can’t really deliver. Some may even go as far as to increase your interest rates at the last possible moment when there is little you can do to get out of the contract.

If you want to avoid unethical lenders, it is a good idea to get referrals from people who were pleased with the service they received from their lenders. Shop around for interest rates from this exclusive list of reputable mortgage companies.