Why it’s important to shop around for a mortgage and what to look for

Getting preapproved for a mortgage can feel like a huge deal. As soon as you do, you might think you can cross that item off your list and move forward with your home search. But stopping at just one lender could end up costing you.

It’s estimated that “borrowers could save an average of $80,024 over the life of a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage by shopping around,” which breaks down to savings of “$222 a month or $2,667 a year,” said LendingTree, citing its recent study. Among rising home...