The APR, or annual percentage rate, is the interest rate used to compare loan programs from different lenders. By no means should you assume that the APR advertised by a bank is the rate you are going to get on a loan!

PMI is Private Mortgage Insurance, and you will generally have to buy it if you purchase a house with less than 20% down. It ensures that the lenders will get their money back if they have to foreclose on your loan.

If your lender goes out of business or just decides he'd rather have cash for your loan than the loan itself, he can sell it at any time. The secondary mortgage market is very strong, and it's quite common for pools of mortgages to be sold.

Most consumers don't understand the admittedly byzantine convolutions of the way mortgage rates are calculated. The first thing you must understand is that there are many different interest rates that together affect your overall mortgage rate, including the following:

A pre-qualification is a statement issued by a loan officer. He interviews you, reviews your credit history and other factors that are used to determine your eligibility for a loan, and tells you what size of loan you can be approved for if you want to buy a home.