1. This post reminded me of ‘no haggle’ car dealerships that ultimately end up costing the smart consumer more. Those people who are willing to step up and haggle ALWAYS win, and dealerships that encourage you not to haggle almost never have good deals. They cater to those who are either lazy, embarassed to haggle, or too busy to find a better deal.

2. Who cares what the anonymous (or even local) mortgage lender thinks of you? If you’re being polite, but drive a hard bargain, any negative thoughts that person harbors toward you are completely unfounded. At the end of the day, business men and women make business decisions. If your hard bargain doesn’t fit within their business, they can turn you down.

3. One more thing on this topic and then my random thoughts will end. Most people have a completely irrational fear that if they continue to haggle, the “prior deal” will be taken off the table. For instance, in the case above where the mortgage lender offerred 5.49 — some consumers might think if they went back to the lender a second time for an even lower rate, the lender would withdraw their 5.49 offer and they’d be left with nothing. This RARELY happens. The fact is, the lender is making a business decision. If the 5.49 deal was good for them yesterday, its still going to be good for them today (barring rate changes). Even if the 5.24 rate hadn’t been obtainable, Debrajoy didn’t lose anything by trying — and in this case gained a lot.