It's a long story, but basically upon my father's death, I discovered he had my name placed on the title of his home to avoid debt collectors taking it as part of his estate.

Since then (I was 20) I've been paying the mortgage (still in his name) and living in the home.

I'd like to get out from under it and inquire about securing a home loan.

Where's the best place to start? A bank? Mortgage Lender? Realtor?

Though I've been paying someone else's mortgage, I'm really quite clueless on how to go about starting on my own.

Thanks

My husband and I went to a mortgage lender and got pre-approved so we know what price range to stay in. Some places that we wanted to check out said you needed to have a letter of pre-approval to even come look at them.

I hope you don't mind me asking:

Did you use a National Lender or somebody local? Just wondering if you have any recommendations...

Not sure where you live, but we went through GSF Mortgage. They were really great to work with.

GSF Mortgage - a Full-Service Mortgage Lender

Thank you, ZoeMarie. :)

It seems they service every state that borders ours... but not MI. I'm glad you had a good experience though

First step is to check with your personal bank or a reputable lender in your area. Make sure you don't pay any upfront fees to get preapproved. Any bank or lender that wants you to pay money upfront at preapproval, run away. Once you know that your are preapproved ask the bank to submit your file with all your supporting income & asset documentation to their underwriter for a full credit approval. This will eliminate the guess work if you'd be truly approved for the loan. Most preapprovals are nothing more than a glossary review of your credit and personal information, trust me, you want to take the next step and submit a full file for credit approval by the underwriter. It doesn't matter if you use a local lender or out of state bank, most likely you will never talk with your mortgage company after closing on the home. Just make sure you get the best deal possible based on your qualification.