Homebuyers are well-advised to be cautious when choosing a mortgage lender to finance their new home. It used to be that this was merely important. Now in our current environment, it is critical.

A big concern for many is that neither they nor the buyer's agents they engage to assist them have the financial skills required to evaluate and compare lender proposals in any meaningful way.

There also is the matter of some mortgage lenders not delivering on their promises. Stories about unscrupulous lenders informing clients about the "nominal" increases in loan rates and/or fees that "unforeseen" circumstances are "forcing" them to charge after the clients' previous homes have been sold and their household goods are in transit are not urban legends. These conversations take place all too often. Closings being delayed for a few days or even a couple of weeks, solely because incompetent or uncaring lenders failed to do their jobs in a timely manner, also are a problem.

My understanding about the characteristics and capabilities of mortgage lenders who consistently exceed their customers expectations and the characteristics and capabilities of those who do just the opposite has been valuable to many of my clients. I also have developed software that calculates total financing costs at any point during the life of a loan that is useful for evaluating and comparing mortgage loan proposals.