Many organizations, including banks, credit unions,savings and loan institutions, insurance companies, and mortgage bankers, offer home loans. These organizations merge, change names, and get bigger or smaller as market conditions change. At the timeof this writing, there are approximately 3,000 online mortgage lenders. Some are full-service online mortgage lenders; others offer just a few services online. Some of these organizations have "brick and mortar" branch offices and others are entirely Web-based. As a matter of fact, one of the top 10 home loan originators in the U.S. is a Web-based bank: HomeSide Lending, Inc. (www.homeside.com).

The cost of building a full-service online mortgage lending Web business starts at about $2 million. Development costs are on going due to the rapid change in online technology. This means that online mortgage lenders tend to be the large mortgage banks because they have the technical cloutthat has enabled them to build full-service onlinemortgage lending Web sites. The biggest playersinclude Norwest Mortgage and Countrywide CreditIndustries.

In the not-so-distant past, wholesale lenders like Norwest (www.norwest.com) provided their 6,000 brokers with daily interest rate sheets. This amounted to about 42,000 faxed pages per day! Now this information is transmitted using the Internet. Brokers enter their passwords and down-load the latest rates. Additionally, these rate sheets can be viewed on the broker's Internet browser. This assists mortgage brokers in being more effective and efficient in finding the rate parameters their customers want.

How Norwest provides interest rates to brokers illustrates how important up-to-the-minute information is in the real estate industry. Real-time interest rates and terms change every day. The online applications are matched to premier mortgage lenders like Countrywide, HomeSide Lending, the North American Mortgage Company, PNC Mortgage, LaSalle, Principal Residential Mortgage, and other similar mortgage banks.

Real estate has changed dramatically in the past several years. What you don't know could get you into trouble. The Web can assist you in protecting your wallet and finding the home of your dreams. Much of this information is provided at supersites sponsored by the government, industry professionals, trade associations, and businesses.

The following is a sample listing of these compilation supersites:

American Mortgage Listings (www.loanlist.com) is a Wall Street Journal listing of real estate and mortgage loans.

General Services Administration (gsa.gov/staff/pa/ cic/housing.htm) is a federal government sponsored site that has a Consumer Infor mation Catalog for Housing. This Web site includes over 10 pamphlets on home buying issues. Some of the downloadable articles are free; others cost between $.50 and $1.00.

Microsoft's Home Advisw (homeadvisor.msn. com/ns/) provides personal financial profile questionnaires to recommend specific loan programs and lenders. In addition to personalized mortgage rates, you'll find homebuyer guidance and online loan applications.

Homefair (www.homefair.com) says you can keep more of your own money when you buy a home, sell a home, or relocate by using the information at this popular Web site. The homepage is divided into two sections. Power Tools are interactive tools (online calculators, mortgage qualification calculation, relocation wizard, etc.). Instant Info includes many informative articles, as well as links to mortgage rates and real estate shopping sites.

HomePath (www.homepath.com/hpp2.html)provides a chart that you can print out and use to help keep track of the different terms and programs that mortgage bankers offer.

You can compare three lenders on one checklist. The checklist can reduce mortgage loan confusion and help you remember those extra costs so you won't be surprised later on.

HSHAssociates (www.hsh.com) is a financial reporting service. It provides a showcase of lenders by geographic region.

The Mortgage Company Search Engine (www. loanpage.com) is a mortgage loan database.Mortgage Mag (www.mortgagemag.com)provides links to hundreds of mortgage banking sites and has listings of mortgage lenders,events, advisors, and more.

The Mortgage Mart (www.mortgage-mart.com) isa residential mortgage lending resource center designed to assist individuals in navigating the home purchasing process. The Web site includes a mortgage lending library, mortgage market information, mortgage professional locators, a standard mortgage loan application (with instructions), mortgage news, and good links to similar sites.Intuit's QuickenMortgage (www. quickenmortgage.com) is a one-stop home loan shopping Web site that offers free real- time interest rate information. Additionally, you'll find mortgage quotes, advice, and online loan applications.