I can’t pass up this sub-4.5% interest rate. Time to upgrade.
Have any tips or tricks to getting as low of a rate as possible? I bought my first house 5 years ago (when I was 23, oh yeah) so first time home buyer programs are out. Any other programs I should look into?
Is there a better way to find a cheap mortgage than to just shop around with a mortgage broker or two?
both my brothers are mortgage brokers/financers…and a very good one. He can probably give you the best insight. will PM.
that being said…friends and family get an additional .25% off of the current mortgage rate which was nice.
just locked into a 4.25% mortgage, didn’t bother to let it float b/c i doubt it’s going to drop much more, and what’s another .01% in the long run vs. risking it going up .
Actually, they probably are going to drop even more with the Fed pumping another $600 billion into the economy. Interest rates was one of the goals of this.
Also, I thought the rates were under 4% now?
jebus I got my house at 5% time to refinance haha
If you’re able to do a 15 year you’ll save huge on the interest rate and amount of interest over the life of the loan should you carry it to term. Also make sure you compare fees and closing costs and not just the rate itself as lenders vary in what they make you pay for out of pocket vs. what gets rolled in vs. what they don’t charge for.
I’m currently in the process of refinancing from 6.75 down to 4.25 (with negative points too).
Fry, just call around and use the lenders against each other. Or follow up with Josh’s F/F discount.
+1
15 yr rates are insane right now.
I saw a 4.0 yesterday with no point… but I’m watching and waiting… I think they’ll go lower because of the fed move.
Yeah 15 year’s going to be a no-go. I like nice things now a lot better than I like good long-term decisions.
A friend of mine had 3.7% locked in on what he thinks was a 30 year fixed rate, but they couldn’t find a house they liked so they let it expire and they have to reapply now. Not quite sure that I believe they didn’t actually have a 5/1 arm or something.
at that rate, it probably was an ARM.
or with one point.
I do agree that 15 year is better but I would still take out a 30 and just pay extra every month.That way you still pay it off faster but if something happens like getting laid off or you get hurt you give your self a little breathing room.
Also consider if you plan on moving in a few years. You need to figure out how long it will take you to break even with closing cost on the refi. Its not always about that 1-2% difference.
edit: They say one extra principal payment a year will save you 6-7 years on a 30 year.
3.7 is really good, maybe they were paying points or it was a 15Y. We’re at 3.625 for 15 or 4.375 for 30 right now, one good deal is PenFed, 4% right now but they’ve been bouncing down to 3.875 occasionally, 1% origination fee but they waive a lot of the BS that most places charge.
Some typical lender fees that other lenders may charge on their applications, which PenFed does NOT charge members on mortgage loan transactions would include:
Processing Fee
Underwriting Fee
Application Fee
Document Preparation Fee
By “Low Closing Costs” we mean that if the loan is other than a “fixed rate mortgage, a refinance of an existing Pentagon Federal mortgage, or an investment property mortgage” and closes, PenFed will not charge for other certain fees for services that are required to complete the processing of the loan.
In addition to not charging the typical lender fees, PenFed also picks up some if the third party vendor fees when the loan closes. These fees include:
Appraisal
Flood Certification
Tax Service
Credit Report
Settlement Fee*
At close to 4% I would question the wisdom of taking a 15 year. I’ve got student loans at 6.8%, a car loan at 4.8%, and could probably make 5% on investments without a lot of risk.
---------- Post added at 02:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:15 PM ----------
Wow yeah PenFed is advertising a 4.084% APR right now.
Now lets make sure I understand Rate vs APR. Rate is the interest rate of the mortgage, APR is what you’ll effectively be paying once they get some extra money out of you by adding fees in the form of interest rather than added principle? So APR is really all that matters in the end?
This is the best way to go. The best way to do this is have your lender set up bi-weekly payments. In doing this you actually make one extra payment per year but don’t even feel it. Your 30 year mtg actually gets paid off in something like 19 years by doing it this way since that ‘extra’ payment goes directly to principle.
Also… to avoid most fees the cheapest way to refi is to just go through whoever your loan is with now.
Yeah it’s simple vs. compound interest. The 4% is what you’re paying in simple interest. The 4.084 comes from compounding 1/12 of 4% of the principle in every month, then paying interest on that, instead of just assessing interest once per year.
Just be careful who you chose and what you sign. I know a guy who had his house taken because he wouldn’t pay for drive by inspections that cost huge money, like $2000. The mortgage company mocked and laughed at him saying things like, “We are gonna take your house and you can’t do anything about it.” He sent his monthly payments registered mail and they rejected them.
I would stick with a bank with local branches but that is just me.
Edit: The bank he was with changed names like 3 times; Fairbanks, Fairview, Fairmont, Fairfuck, etc. They were featured on 60 minutes. He still lost his house even thought they were considered scammers.
I’m going through first priority mortgage, last house was Hunt mortgage. My realtor left Hunt, as well as a few of the ppl she was used to dealing with @ Hunt Mortgage and went over to realty usa, so I’m using them.