That's entirely up to you. There is no right or wrong way, just personal preference. Some people feel more comfortable when they sit across the desk from a loan officer, while others would rather be eaten by ants than sit through a boring old 1003 interview. But for convenience's sake, applying online is certainly faster and more convenient as long as you're comfortable with the online process.

As with other industries, it's changed the landscape. It's fast, efficient, and highly productive. Just a few short years ago, even though people had the option of applying for a mortgage online, just a small percentage would do so. There were two obstacles that prevented lenders from getting the full benefit of using the Internet to speed up the process: universal language and consumer attitude.

Certainly, and there are lenders who advertise that they will pay all fees for you. And not by increasing your interest rate in order to do so. This is a different promotion than simply covering closing costs with higher rates. How?

A few lenders have experimented with something called a one-fee quote. The industry is slow to adopt this product, and it may not catch on until the government starts to require it. Basically, it is nothing more than a lender quoting one big fee say, $2,180 along with their rate quote. No $300 for this and $75 for that. Just one lump sum. Why not? Tome, it sounds like a great idea.

First and foremost, you have to ask. That's part of your or your agent's job. The seller isn't going to give something up that he doesn't need to give up, but the first thing to do would be to make the request as part of your offer. If a home is for sale at $100,000, make an offer you believe is fair and request that the seller pay X percent of your closing costs. What do you have to lose? If the seller says ''no'' and you still need or want the seller to pay your closing costs, change your offer.

If used properly, it works great. The problem is that some loan officers don't know how to calculate the annual percentage rate (APR). The big mistake comes in two ways: One, the loan officer may calculate it incorrectly, and two, the APR is only effective when used to compare the exact same loan from two different lenders. Comparing one loan to another is difficult enough without clouding it with an APR number.

First, you need to identify which fees count and which fees don't. Items in the 900 and 1000 sections the items the lender wants you to prepay in advance—won't vary from one lender to the next. Why? Lenders have no control over your property taxes. Lenders have no control over the cost of your homeowners insurance policy; likewise, they have no control over your escrow or impound accounts.