There are several real estate agents I follow on Twitter.  Some tend to get a bit self important when they constantly post everywhere they go using loopt or yfrog or foursquare, but they also link to interesting blog posts they’ve written or provide funny updates.

I tried to run a hash-tag (run a search for a subject with the pound sign in front of it – e.g., #mortgage) for mortgage companies to see what came up and my twitter account blew up with hungry lenders.  Lenders write about mortgage rates, loan modifications, short sales, who has plead guilty on loan fraud, federal actions, available tax credits, and much much more.  And then within a five minute period, 63 NEW tweets showed up under the #mortgage search criteria.

It makes me realize that lenders have fully integrated into the social media outlets to find new customers.  Most of the article links were to static web pages that showed things like “Three Steps to Loan Modification” or “(Name a State) Mortgage Refinance.” A lot just provided links to news articles that mention mortgages.  I wonder how many are automated … they’re throwing out the fishing lines to see if they can hook someone.

That’s why I always encourage people to go with word-of-mouth when finding a real estate agent or a lender or a plumber or a doctor.  These are the people who’ve actually had experience with the professionals and you’re more likely to know what you’re getting ahead of time.

Once you are ready to pick a lender, ask for a good faith estimate.  Then ask another lender for hers/his.  Look it over and ask lots of questions.  See who you feel comfortable with, see who is able to answer your questions, and pick the person who offers the best rates with the fewest “junk” fees (which should show up on the GFE).