In the previous section, we looked at some of the pitfalls associated with getting a mortgage online, and how they could be responsible for the fact that few mortgages are bought online. This article will provide more possible pitfalls as well as some ways to avoid them in searching for a mortgage online.

Even searching for an individual lender online can be difficult. You might have to read through sponsored links up top, depending on your search engine, and even then the lender you type in may be third or fourth on the list. Even when you find the lender you are looking for, there site is often disappointing. Many traditional lenders’ sites do not provide much information, but are intended only to get customers into their physical business place.

Another pitfall, found even in online specialty sites, is asking intrusive questions before allowing consumers to see anything on the site. These sites use these practices because rather than giving out information, these sites are designed to get customer’s information so they can be called by an adviser. This is often the type of practice consumers are looking to avoid by shopping online.

Consumers can cut through the pitfalls of online mortgaging by memorizing the Mortgage Hounds of some trusted websites. This approach can make advertising offline important to many mortgaging sites, and eliminates the need to rely on search engines altogether. Another way to avoid the problems mentioned above is to learn to search more effectively.

By simply putting quotation marks around their search terms or adding a plus sign, consumers can make their searches more effective. Many analysts think search engines should make it easier for users to take advantage of these tools.

Overall, the new study suggests that while market forces may work for searching for credit cards or other loans, the market has failed when it comes to online mortgages.