But as you can imagine, I would not be writing this article if life were indeed that simple. Real estate financing options are getting quite complicated. Naturally, you are likely to avail of only one or two or few, so the complexity should not cause you anxiety. If I were in your shoes, the only thing I would be worried about would be ignorance of better opportunities.

So, let us divide our approach into three parts.

First: What Exactly Do You Want?

Is it that you have a house that you want to sell and want to buy another? Is it that your existing home is in impending danger of being snatched away because of a loan that you defaulted on? Or are you happy with where you reside, but you are trying to get a loan to improve your loan.

There are many valid objectives. In fact, here is one that you may not have thought of: Is your objective to make your old age peaceful by borrowing money that does not have to be returned in your lifetime?

Second: Evaluate All Alternatives

The first types of alternatives are those that require you to compare across credit offerings. The other way of looking at alternatives is by seeking specific proposals from different lenders. In other words you could say that I am recommending that you consider your options and then get lenders into a little bit of a competition to get your valuable business.

Third: The God Is In The Details

Do not ignore to crunch the numbers and perform a little bit of a scenario analysis. There are sites that will present you will calculators and online forms that can help you with these. But details also include stuff like: Do you want a fixed rate mortgage? Or would you like the rate of interested to float? How would you decide on something like this?

If you are new to all this, it is ok to feel overwhelmed. But, I have also come across people who have gone through the process only once and are now walking encyclopedias on this entire industry. Sure we live in a world where programming the video recorder is supposed to be a challenge. But I am still sure that you can easily master this game of real estate credit.

Think of it this way. If you blindly chose the first option that came your way, it is extremely unlikely that you will ever get a good deal. And there are loan providers who would line up to get your business. And if the concept of "lines" is abhorable, you can always go ahead and get the details online.

Like their brick-and-mortar counterparts, online providers too really want your business. There is no difference for all practical purposes. All in all, remember that an informed and empowered customer is a smart customer.