If a quoted rate seems too far below others, be suspicious. Rates for the same mortgage product should be fairly close from one source to another.

Get a detailed disclosure of costs before you are committed to laying out any money. Some costs, of course, can only be estimates in the early stages of discussion.

Fees can involve language most people aren’t familiar with. If you aren’t sure what a fee description refers to, ask for an explanation.

Discount Points: Among the costs associated with a mortgage loan perhaps the most confusing are discount points. A point is 1% of the loan amount. When you pay a discount point you are actually buying down an interest rate by prepaying some future interest. Most lenders have a “par” rate with no points or slightly lower rates if you pay one or more points.

Origination Points: Don’t let the term “point” confuse you when it’s in conjunction with origination cost. An origination point is simply an origination fee without using the word “fee.”

Other Costs and Fees: Besides discount and origination points there are a variety of other costs associated with a mortgage loan. Typically these are expenses paid by the lender to third parties for services required in making the loan, such as appraisal, title insurance, credit report, closing agent, etc.

You may sometimes see fees described as “processing” or “underwriting” or some such term. Those are usually just an additional form of origination fee.

The best advice in shopping for a mortgage loan is to go to a lender you know to be reputable and trustworthy.

The Federal Reserve has a brief mortgage loan shopping guide that may be useful: www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/mortgage/mortb_1.htm.