Any advice for a first-time home buyer?

[BluRay01]

My partner and I are buying a home--at last! We are new to this and are muddling through, but we're at the point now where we need a mortgage and a title company. Bankrate and fool.com are helpful, but I'd love some tips if anyone here can provide them. Specific information I'd like:

Thoughts on mortgage brokers vs. bigger banks?
I've looked at Lending Tree and NexTag, and at Bank of America, Commerce, and Wachovia. Any other good sites?
Thoughts on ARM versus fixed?

A little background on this, especially the last question. I initially had no intention of considering an ARM, and I still think it's a bad idea for the long or even intermediate term. I am much more likely to go with a 30-year fixed. This will be a jumbo loan, and we only have 5-6% to put down. One lender is offering us a first mortgage at 5.5% (conventional, not jumbo) and a second for the balance at 7%. That's the best I've seen in terms of our overall payment. I'm just a little nervous about going with a lender other than a bank...which I guess is silly--as long as the loan itself is something I can handle, the lender shouldn't matter as much, should it?

Any input you can offer would be very much appreciated. I'm also starting to get into a little stock investing (and maybe some currencies in the near future). I've just recently found this group, and I'm looking forward to reading more.

[trof]

1. bankrate.com is your friend

http://www.bankrate.com/
You can compare rates from several different lenders in your area.
I'd go for lowest possible interest rate.

[davidwparker]

2. Welcome to DU.

Best thing to do is have 20% saved and only go with the first mortgage. Rates won't be going up for a while and you have time to save.

Only go with fixed. If you go with a 30-year fixed, treat it like a 15-year loan and make additional payments that go to your principle.

That's my advice. And, go with whomever will give you the cheapest money. You will have your loan sold to different lending institutions during the lifetime of the loan.

Last thing, go to the library and get some of Suzie Orman's books. She has a show on CNBC. Watch some of those.

[likesmountains 52]

3. When you're ready to make an offer on the home try ALL of the plumbing fixtures

before you make an offer...flush every toilet, run lots of water in every sink. When we moved in to our first house (with a 5 year old and a 1 year old) we used the only toilet only to find the bowl had cracked and the floor beneath the toilet was rotted out. Look at he drain pipes and check for leaks...plumbers don't come cheap!