Purchasing a Home Starts With Great Financing Options
One of the most important things to do when shopping for a mortgage loan is to lock-in when mortgage rates are at their lowest (so you can improve your mortgage rate outcome). But let’s back up a bit. First, what is a mortgage rate?
A mortgage rate is the interest rate affixed to a home loan (mortgage). Mortgage rates are derived from the price of mortgage-backed securities (bonds backed by U.S. mortgages).
There is quite a variance in interest rates when you compare conventional loans, VA, FHA, USDA and jumbo loans. And the rates vary between mortgage lender.
Part of your responsibility in the pre-borrowing phase is to understand what factors contribute to mortgage rates and what you can do when you are shopping for a mortgage rate to maximize your investment and minimize costs.
Trust Us. A Good Lender Is More Than Interest Rate
Have you ever heard horror stories of a loan not closing on time, and with moving trucks packed, kids screaming, pouring down raining, and no hotels for miles. Well, perhaps that is a little dramatic, but there are myriad of things that can go wrong when financing the purchase of a home, and if you have a lender that cannot manage the situation well, you may find yourself in a more costly outcome had you chose a more reputable (and maybe more costly) option. Be sure when interviewing the lenders and their loan originators, questions about speed to close, typical issues that may arise given your situation, and plans to mitigate happenstances. If there is no answer, beware.
Communication
Mortgage companies are holding many of the cards to the purchase transaction, whether it is underwriting, a rate lock, appraisal turn times, or if a broker, which lender they are working with and their history of getting things done right. It is inevitable there will be bumps along the road to any mortgage transaction, but the way it is managed through communication (timely, frequently and consistently) is what sets apart one mortgage lender from the next. If you stay in the dark, you cannot reset expectations with the seller and sure cannot do anything else on your end to salvage the deal (or change gears rapidly).
Lock In Your Rate
So you have chosen a mortgage lender and you are happy with your interest rate and closing costs. Now it’s time to have your lender lock-in your rate.
A “rate lock” means that your lender will keep your mortgage rate for a predetermined amount of time.