Conducting Your Own Mortgage Company Background Check

Knowledge is power, as the saying goes. When it comes to finding the right mortgage company to handle your home financing needs, make sure you're as knowledgeable as possible. Doing your homework on the company you're considering can yield a lot of useful information, saving you plenty of headaches down the road.

Here are a two places to start your own mortgage company background check:

National Mortgage Licensing System & Registry (NMLS) look up
http://www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org/
If you haven't yet contacted a lending company, you could start here to get several names and contact info for mortgage companies in your area. The company profiles on this site will have information on previous company trade names, state license numbers and more.

Better Business Bureau (BBB) 
www.bbb.org
Put in your city or state to find the closest BBB to you. Here, you can check out businesses, file a complaint and read reviews.

In addition to these online resources, don't forget to ask around for recommendations and references for mortgage banks. Your friends, family, coworkers or other members of your community can offer helpful advice.