The world of lending is a highly competitive one. If you have decent credit and are generally a good candidate for an e-loan, online financiers will try to offer you the lowest rate and best terms possible, in order to get your business. Interest is only part of the picture. So when comparing online brokers, be sure to ask about closing costs, prepayment penalties, and other aspects of the "fine print".

I have a confession to make: I'm a supercilious devil. I get a lot of emails from people enquiring about product I know are wasting my time. They've been to two dozen web sites, sent each one a one-line email saying "Help me give it to me NOW", sometimes adding "for free!". When you do give a (considered) reply, you hear nothing back. The best ones are the out-and-out leeches. They'll call you up, asking detailed questions, say thanks very much, then take their product-related business(?) elsewhere (if they can bear to lever open their wallets at all). I used to wonder why product dealers were sometimes so abrupt. No more. They have sales quotas, and after 1000 calls, the rep. gets to know a hot prospect, or a time-waster very quickly.