Do you want to check current rates or get a history of where interest rates have been for, say, the last ten years? Do you want to compare interest rate trends or see how volatile an interest rate index has been over the past few years? There are various websites that provide historical rate data at no charge to the consumer. Perhaps one of the most extensive sites is HSH Associates, or www.hsh.com.

You can, but lenders won't hand you the keys. The only thing that's really done online nowadays is taking the loan application; a loan officer will then call you back. Lenders learned a lesson with online loans and ''instant'' approvals when borrowers began questioning just how good their approvals actually were.

No. You're wasting your time. The e-mails you get are nothing more than spam. As a matter of fact, they're rarely from mortgage companies. In connection with an article I wrote about the practice of mortgage "spam", I decided to answer one of the many e-mails that appear in my in box nearly every day.

I would suggest avoiding the pure-play online lender. Especially if you're not familiar with the online lending process or haven't financed very many (if any) properties. By ''pure play'' I mean companies that don't have a physical presence other than their headquarters.

That depends upon how "wrong" the papers are. If it's something minor that your settlement agent can change, it might be fixed right there at the closing. But what if you were quoted 7.00 percent and all of your documents show 7.50 percent? If you're at the closing table getting ready to move into your new home that day, there isn't a whole lot you can do about it. It might be too late.

What a change from just a few years ago. Today you can fill out a single application online and have several lenders or mortgage brokers provide you with their best quote after reviewing your application. You may not get anything better than what you can get locally, but you still get four mortgage quotes without having to complete four different applications.

Carefully. But there are some good places to start. One of the best-known websites for interest rates in general and for mortgages specifically is BankRate Monitor, found at www.bankrate.com. Bank-Rate Monitor both surveys area lenders for mortgage rates and provides a venue for mortgage companies brokers as well as bankers to advertise on the same page.