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We are in the process of obtaining a conventional mortgage. My huband and I both have credit scores in the upper 700s and 800s range. I'm told anything above 740 is treated the same. We have very little debt so our ratios are excellent.
We are putting down a good amount on our home but opted to keep some of our cash and are not going to put down the entire 20% because we are able to afford the mortgage amount.
Our mortgage broker is saying that as of today the best 30 year fixed rate on a conventional loan is 3.75%. I am wondering how people are getting all these fabulous rates I am seeing everywhere....3.2 or 3.4%. The little ads are constantly popping up on my computer because of the searches I am doing.
Is my broker being honest about what the "best" rates are???
Also--how do I shop it? She already ran my credit. Isn't it harmful to have your credit run over and over again by various lenders?
Is it just FHA loans and VA loans that have the lower rates? We are not 1st time buyers so I don't think anything other than conventional is an option for us.
Any input or advice would be great! We have a contract on a property and are about to lock in but I need some advice and/or reassurance.
What is your loan amount? And what percent down? Are you doing a no MI loan or are you paying monthly MI or paying it in the rate?
To answer your question, if you are putting less than 20% down, or borrowing more than 417K....or doing a no MI loan, it's a good rate...But I think you get the idea, we don't have the full picture.
We are doing a no MI loan. 10% down, 80% 30 year fixed conventional and then another loan for 10%. We are borrowing less than $417K. But what changes at $417K--just curious.
CO in-state banks and brokers are tough to beat. You have an excellent offer, as far as the numbers go. Hopefully you will get service as well.
Regarding low-rate ads: Those ads tend to be rates for single family residences in Florida with 800 scores and 30% down, many times with fees added to closing costs to get there, or terms of ten or 15 years. Lots of fine print.
If, fifteen years ago, someone were to talk about getting 5% on a mortgage with only 10% down, nobody would believe it. There are many, many other areas of consumer finance that deserve this kind of microscopic obsession.
I would only shop your lender if their service level frustrated me, and I will happily pay a premium for performance. Then, I would accelerate payments and my Effective Rate would be 60% of the rate on my closing docs. Time is the enemy.
And yes, VA tends to offer the best rates with no M.I., and rightfully so....
Yes, as I do more research I am seeing there is a lot of fine print to get some of these advertised rates. The service has actually been very good so we are going to stick with this broker and hope for the best. We actually spoke with and obtained estimates from two others before going with this company and they all seemed somewhat similar. At this point in time I think we need to try to go ahead and lock because predictions are that rates are going up and we close in less than 30 days.
I didn't put down 20 percent and got my rate at 3.375%. Locked in January, I would imagine the rates haven't gone up much in that short span of time.
Did you pay an origination fee to get that rate?
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