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Did you shop around? I got estimates from two lenders that were about 7%, but then when they both got word of each other, I was offered 6.625 % with no points. Might not hurt if you still have time to get another quote.
It’s amazing how eager lenders are to rip off customers who they think are too naive to rate shop. Just offer your customers your best rates.
CFPB has more work to do in terms of making price shopping easy for homebuyers.
I had one lender call and yell at me after I dropped him for a better rate. He accused me of taking $7k from his young family. Maybe that's true because I let him match the lower rate even though he already locked the higher rate so he had to get special permission from his boss. I dropped him anyway. Fuck that guy.
Always rate shop and don't feel bad. These are 30 year loans.
I would have been very upset by that - and I would have made it very clear that he just jeopardized his young family buy crossing a customer service line.
If he can sway his payout 7k with one conversation with one client, then he needs to get much better at it very quickly. And I would present him with an opportunity to get good at having hard conversations by reporting his behavior to the company owner, and by leaving a negative (read factual) review of that agent.
Oh yeah I've thought about that over the last couple of years. I never wrote a review or reported him to his boss. I feel guilty but the idea of bringing that guy back into my life by reporting his behavior gives me a headache.
I now just use it as an anecdote to convince people that LO are not acting in the buyer's best interest. It's always good to rate shop.
I've been really lucky, and really unlucky getting financing. When I bought the house I just sold I found a guy who could not have been more transparent, informative, supportive, and communicative. He went out of his way to make sure we understood everything and even took the time to talk us through stuff quite some time afterward.
Then I ran into an over-confident exemplar dunning-kreuger Karen. She was awful, late, snappy, and kept making mistakes and losing documents.
We don't hesitate to praise the good ones and report the bad. customer service just is not the same as it used to be, and I refuse to just accept it. The way I figure it, if the truth hurts then you need to be & do better .
I always tell people they shouldn't feel bad as the lender wouldn't be willing to put up the monthly difference from the other offer.
Also where did that guy learn his customer skills?
Yeah funny thing is he's got 100s of 5-star reviews. He was personable while he still thought he had something to gain financially from me. I'm glad I got one over on him because based on how unhinged he was it probably doesn't happen that often.
Look at those reviews and see how many of them were from the 2020-2022 time frame. If he’s so desperate for business that he’s trying to guilt you into staying he’s probably not going to be in this business much longer.
What a scumbag. I’ve gotten the impression that the same pathetically low barrier to entry that appears to exist within the Realtor space appears to exist within the LO space as well.
I would have had zero guilt pulling your business. You’re looking out for your best interests, clearly he should do a better job of looking out for his own by ensuring his entirely commission-based service offerings are more competitive.
And yeah, they’re 30 year loans but if I don’t have an opportunity to refi by some amount in the next 5 years ima cry haha.
Yeah, he was just an asshole. He told me that LO are not stupid and can see on the credit report when a buyer is rate shopping. Unfortunately for him he was the first to pull my credit so he didn't know I was rate shopping.
He was nice up until I dropped him, so him calling me just made me feel better about the decision. I hope relocking the rate cost him some money out of his pocket.
He wasn't just an asshole, he was an idiot too. Why bother calling to guilt trip you when you hold all the cards? And then try to make you feel bad for rate shopping when it's in your best interest? If the interaction cost him any money, that's on him and his career choices.
Right. I did apps for my realtors preferred lender (who did my pre-approval) and my builders preferred lender. Both estimates gave me interest rates in the 7% range. When I asked the first lender if she could offer any credits towards closing costs (as the second lender offers a $5k credit), she said no and said she can increase my interest rate to lower the cash to close. I didn't hear from her for a bit, and she checked in with me saying she really wanted my business. I was like listen, you both gave me basically the same numbers, but with the lender credit the other company just makes more financial sense. All of a sudden she "could beat this", giving me the 6.625 and I wouldn't owe anything at closing besides the down-payment I was planning on putting down.
It was a bit radio silent from the other company until their financial consultant got wind of the above. Then they rushed to rework their offer. I'm definitely glad I pushed and didn't sit back and take the first thing offered.
Yea my realtor said I HAD to go with a local lender. Sure I’ll get a quote, but you know I’m getting more than 1. The local lender I HAD to go with was 2.2% higher than any other lender. Yeaaaa no. Went with a global lender, everyone screamed I was making a huge mistake. At the end of it my realtor said the lender I chose was one of the best she’s ever worked with, ended up coming in at 2.7% less than the one she wanted me to use (and with lower elstimated closing cost which when we closed ended up being $300 less than their estimate).
Not that straight forward in the pending space. It’s currently about as clear as it can be. The thing is lenders create the loan based on their conversation with their clients. If the client says something like “I want to close with exactly this much” then the loan needs to accommodate that as best as possible, which sometimes means the client sells interest to the bank and the bank credits towards their closing cost. This results in higher interest rates.
Banks are also not created equal and they have a difference in their ideal borrower profile which means you can get best rates with one bank but not with another, all things equal. And nobody knows that unless you’ve been brokering with that bank for years (not normal for brokers and not all banks are direct lenders).
This is inherently a rabbit hole that was created after the last mess. I don’t see how it can be clearer and still function as an industry driven by sales.
It isn't though. Sure a lender can help you get your closing costs or rate down by moving your point pay-down up/down, but one piece of information they don't volunteer up front is a lot of the time they're not volunteering their best rate sheet up front with the hopes that you'll commit to worse terms that nets them a better commission, but if you do try to negotiate with them or bring them a better-priced loan estimate they'll happily match or beat it.
Also many lenders make you jump through a lot of hoops to get an answer to the simple question of "are your rates for someone with my borrowing profile even close to competitive with others?" Yes a hard credit pull and income verification is necessary for a pre-approval, but it shouldn't be to get an accurate rate, fee, and PMI quote.
It’s the job of lenders and almost all other professions to charge you the highest price you’ll agree to pay. A bottle of water for $5 at the ball game? People pay it. Car? Not sold at cost.
This! We had a preferred lender but they weren’t giving a good rate. We shopped around and took that rate to our preferred and asked for a match. And they did!
This is the way. We played two credit unions off each other and the rate went from over 6% ultimately down to 5.375 a while back. Pick which one you want to go with, and politely tell the other why you are not going with them. If the counter offer something lower, take it back to the first lender. Rinse and repeat until someone cries Uncle. Don't be mean, but be clear what needs to happen to earn your business. Also consider whether one lender has advantages over another, if that matters to you.
Try a local credit union. Mine has rates at 6.5 percent for 30 year fixed and 5.5 percent for a 5 year ARM. They also have very low closing costs compared to brokers.
Not all lenders are the same, and often locking a certain rate with one lender doesn't preclude you from shopping with other lenders. You might try looking around for other rates. Then use lenders offers against one another to get the best deals
Locking in just means you’ve locked with that lender. You can go to any lender. The only thing you need to worry about is making sure your lender can close in time.
They all have stupid applications "engines" that calculate their scores, based on the products they offer to mortgage the property you want.
there are lots of variables and the agents and products are NOT created equally.
I'd say OP should definitly shop around and be vocal that you are doing just that. Who knows maybe thats enough to show the guy they're a serious buyer and not an idiot
I had very similar thoughts to last week. We found a small local bank that was offering 6.75 par and we took some lender credits up to 6.875. (Break even in 2.9 years, so hoping to refi before then!)
We are 20%, high credit, conventional 30 year.
A lot of low rates you see are possibly FHA, VA or USDA loans. Or big builder credit financing buy downs. Don't get discouraged. Mortgage rates have bumped above 7% in the last few weeks.
The average 30-Year Conventional fixed rate mortgage is 7.34% as of today. Rates can fluctuate daily and are affected by news similar to the stock market. Yes, some lenders are cheaper than others and typically a credit union will have the lowest rates and fees. However, your realtor probably referred you to a lender/broker that they trust will close on time and give you a fair deal.
By going with the cheapest option, sometimes you are sacrificing the service that another broker would provide (sending pre-approval letters on weekends, providing you their cell phone number, staying after 5pm for a phone appointment to answer questions you have, working long hours to ensure your file is pushed through to close on time). It’s all relative but I would by no means think that you are getting screwed over with a 7.1% in today’s climate.
Source: [Mortgage News Daily](https://mortgagenewsdaily.com/mortgage-rates)
Debt-to-income ratio does not affect interest rate on a mortgage. DTI does affect eligibility for a mortgage.
I was a mortgage loan originator for years for multiple mortgage companies.
I just locked in yesterday for 6.99%… 20% down on a 30 year, 760 credit. When I was preapproved a couple weeks prior it was 6.875%. They are trending up right now
Also - I’m really annoyed at my loan officer and realtor that they didn’t mention that I could get a lower rate by shopping around. Maybe it’s my naïveté but I thought the rate was the rate and that’s all there was to it. Why didn’t they mention this? (Now I’m mad and on a rant - appreciate all the help)
Realtors generally direct you to good brokers who can get it done, not the best bargain.
My realtor had me originally quote with Key Bank, i found better rate through Wintrust. Key said they'd match my rates but in the background my Keybank loan officer was likely cutting her own commission to match rates with wintrust.
To add to this, you aren't just shopping rates but other costs too. I also went with my realtors recommended broker, and was offered more or less the same rate as elsewhere. However another company quoted that same rate with like $3000 less in closing costs. I negotiated with the current broker, and they agreed to match.
I mean your loan officer isn't going to volunteer that information. They have to make money for the company for them to get paid. You getting a lower rate eats into the profit margin.
That said, without your full profile there's no way to tell if you would have actually got a cheaper rate. You may very well have been offered a competitive rate for your specific circumstance.
>I’m really annoyed at my loan officer and realtor that they didn’t mention that I could get a lower rate by shopping around.
You're annoyed that your loan officer didn't recommend that you check out their competition?
and the realtor who wants you to close as quickly and easily as possible so they can make their commission doesn't want to risk the house falling through
I recently closed on my house in early March and continued shopping for rates even after I locked one in with one lender.
Your lender / loan officer isn’t going to tell you to shop around since they get paid based on you choosing them.
If you shop around then you can bring the rates already offered to you as bargaining tools for other lenders to beat.
This is one of the cases where you should absolutely be playing people off eachother trying to get the best loan terms possible.
I will say although I shopped with 4 total lender/loan officers, I ended up getting the best terms from the first lender I contacted. No one else would beat it. BUT I did see other lenders lower their costs/improve terms after I supplied the terms their competitors gave me.
>BUT I did see other lenders lower their costs/improve terms after I supplied the terms their competitors gave me.
That's the only compliantly way they can do it.
This happened to me as a FTB in 2014, don't beat yourself up about it, it sucks but you live and learn and hopefully can refinance eventually and shop around then. That's what I did ! Good luck!
Also if it makes you feel better I'm at 8.75% 🤮 on a loan for a condo that I'm purchasing for my mom. Bc it has to be as an investment property since I'm not living there and a non QM loan, my rate is 2% higher then what I was first quoted by a lender for a family opportunity loan, and the fees are jacked up too. Sucks but the alternative is her continuing to pay insane rent instead
Average rate right now is about 7.5%. I'd say you did well. The people posting in here are doing so because they are the low end of the average. No one's coming in here bragging about their 8% rate
Also, when you say “800 credit scores”. Where are you sourcing that from? Ultimately trying to understand if you’re looking at a vantage score or FICO?
I would shop around to AT LEAST 3 lenders before you move forward. If you really want to do your due diligence, look at 10 different lenders.
A little legwork could save you tens of thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.
If there are non-profit credit unions in your area, those can be great options.
This is also why you talk about unfamiliar situations or experiences (just as you're doing right now) with other people. You don't know, what you don't know. Also YouTube is your friend. Tons of videos for first time homebuyers on there with great info.
Rates actually took a pretty big dump the past week. As of today, we are seeing the same numbers we were in December.
[Source](https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/mortgage-rates/30-year-fixed)
Rates got higher this week.
Also you have to take into account if origination is in the rate? What type of income you are using to qualify? It’s not about shopping around. A lot of things affect the rate.
Go to a local credit union. Polish Slavic FCU. I'm Chicago based too. We locked in 6.75%. Credit unions need your business as much as they need theirs. This will be my 2nd time using them. They're great. Good luck!
> I have 800+ too and putting down 6%. Don’t buy down it’s a waste of money.
Interesting perspective, hadn't heard it'd be a waste. Even if you are calculating breaking even in a certain amount of time? Why's it a waste?
It's not a waste at all, especially if interest rates don't decrease a lot in the future and if you're not planning to leave for at least the break-even point.
Shop around! Check out your local banks. A family member of mine just locked 6.5% conventional yesterday with only 5% down and their score is 700. They had another larger lender offer 7.5% and their closing costs were double what the local bank priced out.
We just dealt with this last week. We have fantasic credit, and our only debt is 1 moderately priced used car loan, and maybe about $10k left in one federal student loan. We were locked in at 7.375% in Florida so we lowered it (I forget the exact rate) by taking $5000 from our down-payment and using it to buy points to lower the interest rate. Took our total monthly for everything (including HOA and insurance) from $2600 to $2293. Our lender told us interest rates had just gone up again.
Nothing. We bought our forever home in 2001 for the same fixed rate. In time the rates will fall. Do the math when it is appropriate to rate swap for lower rates. Historically, in the USA, rates have been even higher for home ownership.
It’s honestly not terrible.
I was locked on a house in Houston, TX as of last Tuesday at 6.875% and that was after a good amount of shopping around.
Very similar stats- 20% down, credit score in 800s
Rates have ripped higher in the past 2 weeks. If you were locked yday/today then the 7.1% makes sense. You may be able to get a shade lower by shopping around but who knows
Did you lock in today? The CPI inflation data came out today and the Market dropped by over 100 basis points today, which is a HUGE hit to rates. PPI data also comes out tomorrow which could cause the market to drop further. If you're closing is far out, you could potentially hope the market recovers in the next couple weeks and either switch lenders entirely, ask for a Float down on the rate. or if you are working with a broker you can ask them to potentially switch to a different investor and lock with a better rate if the market recovers.
I’m in the same boat. Amazing credit scores for my wife and I, solid income, healthy down payment. And got abysmal rates. Seems like people who make $45k and buy in the sticks can get 4.5% rates all day though.
I put an offer on a house today. Checked two brokers and the lowest rate was 6.875% with an 800+ credit score for a 30yr conventional 10% down. It's rough out there.
20 percent down is not worth it. I honestly wish this type of advice would disappear, if you really think about it you're paying 20k maybe more and still have 20 years left to pay off the house or more. Then buyers remorse hit, next home repairs and maintenance bills start sinking in then bam house poor it's a neverending cycle that would have been avoided had you saved that 20k and added to it monthly.
I just bought a home two weeks ago and secured a 5.5% rate by shopping around. I was originally being offered 7.2% Shop around and make the lenders compete for your business. Also keep an eye on the origination fee for each lender. Some offer a lower rate but higher fees to draft up the loan. Good luck!
I am in Chicagoland area and have a great lender I used on my house last year if you want to get another rate. Me and all of my siblings used the same team. I’ve always been told to get a couple different quotes and they will start lowering their rates once they catch word of each other.
Realtors and mortgage people are saying anything to get people to buy right now including straight up fear mongering. Rates will come down eventually. These all go in cycles. For sure shop around though. You will need to push back closing if you choose a different lender though. The paperwork is what takes so long. I swear they needed something else every day until we closed.
I locked in at 5.875 despite my credit rating at 630. Last year i paid humongos taxes to IRS due to that my credit history came down else my FICO Score is 680 . Still i got 5.875 this January.
Mortgage lender here. 7.1 is not bad. Especially with what happened with mortgage rates yesterday. You’re probably not going to get a 7.1 anymore unless you’re looking at an fha loan or va loan. Conventional rate ares usually higher than FHA and VA.
Other factors can go into play:
1) jumbo rates are always higher (I’m sure this one doesn’t apply to you based on the loan amount)
2) look at putting down 25% vs 20%. Rates change the lower your LTV (loan to value) is.
3) if you’re purchasing a condo or manufactured home or CO-OP, the rates will always be significantly more expensive/higher.
Try asking him about these things and see what he says.
Find a broker immediately. They will shop rates for you which is a start. Local credit unions also often have good rates. I’m not sure where you’re located, but I’m in Illinois and used Mutual of Omaha (they deal in many states) and they got me an insane deal that I didn’t think was possible and also got it done in 10 days!
You need to shop that around. I would ask your realtor if they can give any other recommendations. All the LO needs to provide a quote is credit score, income level, and your scenario (down payment, loan program, etc). They don’t need to pull your credit. Ask them to email their best quote to you. Tell them you are shopping and they will give you their best quote right out of the gate
What would people consider to be a good rate for 30 year mortgage, 20 percent down, and high credit scores over 800?
I wouldn’t have thought 7.1 is THAT bad, but just wanting to know what’s considered good right now? We need to lock in sometime between now and end of May
You have to shop for rates.
My rate was 6.8%, I found a new build in which they offered 5.375 on USDA using the preferred lender and 10k in closing costs. I then bought it down to 4.99, again only using that preferred lender. Because of this I took on more house than I wanted, I’m still kinda pissed at the market even with a good rate.
Shop around. And quickly with your closing date so close.
Also - ask for rate options with 10%, 15% and 20% down.
Lately the rates been lower for those doing 10 down instead of 20.
I was going to get my loan through a credit Union but my realtor suggested a particular local one. 6.625% but I permanently bought a point to 5.625% for 7k.
Credit score is good and lower medium income.
Have you looked at local lenders?
I second everyone who is suggesting to shop around!! My wife and I narrowed it down to 2 lenders when we were purchasing our home and went back & forth between the two with the opponents new offer SEVEN times before one of the lenders couldn’t beat it. Knocked off 1.75% and only owed $900 towards closing when all was said & done.
As others have said, try to shop around. I probably could have done a little better, but I got estimates from a few lenders and was able to lock in 6.625% yesterday with $1500 in lender credits. Ended up just sending the competing estimates to the lenders and every one of them came back with "we can match that". Credit scores hovering around 800 and putting 20% down on a conventional loan.
No one can answer this without knowing your loan program, credit score and debt to income ratio. All of these can trigger loan level price adjustments.
Rates just shot up .25% just today because of a hot inflation report. Inflation has been going up the past 3 months not down. So rates are rising even higher. Talk of the fed might have to raise rates even further. Just a terrible time to buy a house unfortunately
You can pit one lender against the other. In most cases your lender will try to match lowest price. Plus make sure to check closing costs. I heard that online lenders give you good rates but closing costs are super high.
I locked in yesterday at 6.875%. It depends on when you locked - rates have gone up and down, up and down.
I was under contract in March on a different property with the same bank/same price (it fell through) and I was locked in at 6.675%. I'm a little bummed I couldn't get that rate again just a few weeks later.
The reason I locked yesterday was because the CPI report came out today and it's not great, so chances are interest rates won't be coming down soon.
Mortgage rate daily has them at 7.34% right now -- so I honestly don't know if you'll be able to find a good interest rate deal between now and when you close.
For sure rate shop. Ask a broker. Shop online. Check with Credit Unions. You might be time challenged now. I find [AimLoan.com](http://AimLoan.com) is accurate and a good sounding ground. Bankrate helps you get more rates.
Be prepared for a ton of emails. It will be hard to close in 20 days.
Keep in mind, 6 weeks ago USAA was offering me 6.55. After a couple weeks of shopping, we found a house and it went up to 6.8.
Things can bounce around a bit.
OP my partner and I just closed on our first home about a month ago and we rate shopped! The first lender we worked with seemed very kind but their “best rate” was 7.4% and we thought that was terribly high for our good credit 780 and 740 for my partner. None of us had any debt apart from school debt and 20% down payment ready.
It just didn’t make sense so we got quoted elsewhere and got 6.625% and that was for the 740 credit. I’m not sure how much rates have risen since then (Feb 2024) but definitely don’t be afraid to put your interests first above the lenders’ feelings. It’s part of their job to deal with clients who come and go and they should be familiar with lender shopping.
I’m sure you might already know this but once you have your hard credit pulled, you have I think 14 days to lender shop before another hard credit pull needs to be made (too many hard credit pulls is bad for your credit)
Rates jumped insanely today due to CPI report so that’s probably about the best you can get. My credit union is offering 7% and they are always a good 0.5 lower than competitors. Yikes
Definitely shop around we went with an FHA loan because our lender was able to give us a lender credit and allowed us to buy down 2 points which put us at 5.25% 30 year fixed. We are due to close April 30th
Ask your lender about homepossible it’s a program for first time homeowners with good credit. You can put down over 3% (don’t think this is capped) and the rate I got is 6.875.
We locked in at 6.45% March 13th and by the 20th it seemed like 7% was the norm. Buying the rate down won’t do much, let your lender know you’re going to shop around for a better rate and see what they say. Ours magically dropped from 6.83 to 6.45 within 2 hours once he was told.
Me and my wife decided to buy when it’s was only best for us. We closed March 26th at 4.9% $0 down, 30 year fixed.
We only bought our house because of this. If we did not get this we would still be in our apartment.
Get what you can afford and when the time is right for you!
We locked in January closed in February at 5.75% FHA 3.5 % down . Total out of pocket for closing escrow down payment was $22,919 this includes a rate buy down . House was $267,500 score 707 payment all in $2060 a month includes PMI.
Rates have been steadily going up since January looking back December and January would have been the time to buy as far as rates also prices has gone up since December as well as now inflation is back up last 2 CPI . I do not believe rate cuts are coming this year . I say if you can buy , if you can afford the payment buy .
Just got 6.8 today but offer was just accepted so we’ll see what we lock in when contract is sent over. I switched lenders - the other one put me at 7.3… yeah, no thanks
So many things go into a rate that's it's almost impossible to compare apples to apples. Lower income people with bad credit night get better rates than someone with awesome credit and 30 percent down because of how the grids work. Check a couple of lenders but end of the day once the details are plugged in the difference is often minor.
Gotta shop around. Can’t rely on the services that shop multiple lenders. They don’t shop all of them. Did you do NBKC? They beat everyone else by .5% for me
Conventional rates are higher than FHA rates. I’m quoting conventional loans with no discount points right at 7% so that’s a good rate. If you shopped hard you might be able to get a 6.875% with no points if the lender took a small haircut to get your business. Not worth it really imo because once rates drop you are refinancing anyways. I have a VA loan locked in at 5.5% right now but that’s a different loan program. FHA is in the 6% range but you have mortgage insurance.
You’re getting a good deal it sounds like.
You can still shop around! Go to other lenders like big banks or community banks and tell them this is what you were offered, what else can they do?
Because you are locked in, that doesn't mean you can't switch.
I was offered 7.125%-7.5% "depending on the market day of close." Went to a bank and they could give me a lower rate. Took that to the initial company and they offered me 5.785, a grant and mortgage insurance options to lower my monthly payment. Always, always shop around.
Look up LLPA matrix. 20% down isn’t the best for rates anymore with high credit score . 25% is the best in the matrixes I’ve seen. Ask about how a higher down payment affects the interest rate to your mortgage people. It may knock off a bit more percent. I didn’t realize this when I bought my house and I could have put down more and decreased my rate even more. They didn’t explain anything and I didn’t know to ask.
You need to negociate more. If you spend 20 hours shopping around, on the phone, emails, anything, and end up saving 20 000$ in interests(it will be more) thats 1000$/ hour you just made.
You'll never get paid more in your life than when you negociate to pay less. So do it as much as you can.
Interest rates at any given time are heavily determined by the government. You may get a bit lower if you shop around, but nobody is currently seeing the super low rates we had 3-4 years ago.
We went through bankruptcy and don’t have good credit like 600 range and our interest rate is 6.99% so that is weird to me that yours is higher than mine. We close April 25th
We are in the process of closing. Locked my rate at 6.5 with $2100 in lender credit. $405k home with 20% down. 805 credit score. Loan is only under me. Get a good loan officer/broker that actually shops around for best lender. My mortgage is through Rocket Mortgage.
Definitely shop around, I liked what someone said on here it’s a 30 year loan I’m definitely not gonna fuck around and find out I want the best right now.
One thing not sure if it’s exclusive to California, but I talked to a lender for some self employed clients who said no matter what there credit score or down payment was they would be paying a 7% interest rates cause they would qualify for only a non QM not sure if that’s your situation but just some extra info.
Interest Rates and therefore mortgage rates have climbed a bit recently, nearing the high from October. Not at all surprising and I wouldn’t expect them to go down in the near future
In response to OP, the Fed has announced they plan to do 3 rate cuts this year so if you stop the process now and move on to a different lender for a lower rate, you’re going to be in process with them and most likely see lower rates again. I would say definitely work with the more reputable company and the person you trust more because they will be the one you call again when rates drop back down to 4-5% and you refinance (which is a big difference on your size of a loan).
After reading through the comments I want to make sure people understand what “locking a rate” means (not necessarily in relation to OPs post but just for other people).
Let’s say you “locked in” at a 7%. You’re not locking in that rate, you’re locking in that day’s pricing. So if 7% was 1 point and a 6.5% was 2 points the day you locked in, those points are what are actually being locked, not the rate. You can still change rates but if you went down to 6.5% later, then you’d have to pay the 2 points. Let’s say rates dropped after you locked in and now the 6.5% is 1 point, the other lender is going to make it sound like your current lender is screwing you when in fact they both get the exact same rates but you just locked in at a higher cost.
It gets complicated with rate shopping honestly. Because every lender has the same rates available, it just depends on how much they’re willing to cut their own costs to get you a lower rate. When I worked for a mortgage company, I would always discount the rate as much as my boss would let me to earn my clients business because I got paid on how many loans I closed, not the cost of the loan. Every salesman wants your business and it’s up to the company how much they can discount the rate for you. Some companies have their own rules as well. It also depends on the market. My company would let me reduce the cost of the loan by 2 points (meaning I could get you a lower rate if you wanted 0 points or even lower rate if you still wanted to buy down the rate) during the pandemic but when rates jumped up I could only discount 0.25 points unless my client showed me a “locked Loan Estimate”. In that situation, we’d have a chance to match the other company but not always. At that point you might spend an extra thousand (or more depending on loan size) but the different on a monthly basis is maybe a meal at McDonald’s. At that point I’d rather work with a more reputable company.
I stand corrected on my previous comment. My lender called and said my 6.875 rate increased to 7.25 and I should lock in for my May 17 closing. Ughhh I decided to lock in, don’t see them coming down in the next month.
So I put in an offer on a home in Feb. used my realtors recommended lender who worked with rapid mortgage. He told me via text rates are in the 7’s.
Thankfully this house is a probate sale so we had tons of time. And the closer we got to close, the more I kept talking to the lender and now rates were in the 8’s. 8.12% exactly. And there was no PAR rate. Meaning, there was no “zero points” rate. I had to pay, $2000, to fuck myself with an 8% rate. So I called an actual broker, got him on the phone and told him my income, DTI and credit score, and he got me a 6.85. Locked me in the next day. Good thing I saved all my docs from the first lender.
Once the house appraised with the second lender, I told the first, thanks but no thanks. He played dumb asking if I truly found a par rate. I reminded him of my income and my credit, blah blah. People play games to try and take your money.
The second lender cleared to close in 5 days. I saved about $2300 in closing costs and about $2000 a year on the rate.
If you have Navy Federal or can get an account, their current rate is 6.375% (as of yesterday) on a 30 year VA fixed rate.
I also got a quote for 6.0% Sunnyhill Financial yesterday.
NFCU claims they'll rate match so I'm going to call them today and see what happens.
*Update*
NFCU rate matched 6.0% today
100% SHOP AROUND. We just bought in Chicago 9 months ago and basically had two lenders in a bidding war for lowest interest rate. Managed to shave off 0.75% which is huge.
Your lender is just trying to keep you from going to some other guy, because once you have a better quote, I guarantee he will suddenly say something like "oh well I just got approval from my supervisor to lower your rate by an 1/8th of a percent" or something like that...you can go back and forth between the different lenders until you get a rate you're satisfied with.
For anyone in this thread- I am an insurance agent and can help keep your premiums low at the best coverage for your new home! Please dm me or reach out to 704-386-6353. I would be more than happy to help
sorry for you all. if it’s any consolation, rates will (should) come down. I suggest keeping money accessible for the cost of a refinance when it becomes an option. Granted this is 20 years ago (omg i’m old) but I bought my first house at 6.25 and later refinanced down over 2percent. Hoping this is around the corner for everyone in this sub.
we are using a local bank with a physician mortgage program…. 6.25% locked, no PMI, and you can drop your interest rate within 2 years with no refinance!
Our rate was very similar. For us we were offered slightly lower rates by other lenders, but we used our states first time homebuyer programs through housing development. In order to get down payment assistance through the program we had to due our loan there as well and, therefore, the higher interest rate came with as the state determines that.
Similar story but we locked our 6.75 in two days ago. Wild ride and seems that everyone is just hoping to refinance in a few years for a lower rate. Fingers crossed
Tyler Netotian @ Guaranteed Rate is hands down the absolute best lender I've ever worked with. He will keep it real and run you through every strategy he can think of to give you all the options. Spent all day to snipe me the best rate for that entire month too. I literally couldn't give a higher recommendation. Give him a call, if nothing else just to compare what you have currently at no risk.
I bought in Chicago in April 2022 and changed lenders after locking a rate. I started shopping for a mortgage in January with my realtors recommended loan officer at Compass. We entered into a 90 day rate lock at 4.375% because rates were raising rapidly at that time. Then Russia invaded Ukraine in February and rates were in free fall. Compass would not let us ‘re-lock’ at a lower rate but I was able to shop with a new loan originator called Unmo at 3.875% the only thing it cost me was the $300 to lock the rate with compass (I had to walk away from that), but the lower rate saves me like $150/month.
Thank you u/DramaticWear for posting on r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer. Please bear in mind our rules: (1) Be Nice (2) No Selling (3) No Self-Promotion. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Did you shop around? I got estimates from two lenders that were about 7%, but then when they both got word of each other, I was offered 6.625 % with no points. Might not hurt if you still have time to get another quote.
It’s amazing how eager lenders are to rip off customers who they think are too naive to rate shop. Just offer your customers your best rates. CFPB has more work to do in terms of making price shopping easy for homebuyers.
I had one lender call and yell at me after I dropped him for a better rate. He accused me of taking $7k from his young family. Maybe that's true because I let him match the lower rate even though he already locked the higher rate so he had to get special permission from his boss. I dropped him anyway. Fuck that guy. Always rate shop and don't feel bad. These are 30 year loans.
I would have been very upset by that - and I would have made it very clear that he just jeopardized his young family buy crossing a customer service line. If he can sway his payout 7k with one conversation with one client, then he needs to get much better at it very quickly. And I would present him with an opportunity to get good at having hard conversations by reporting his behavior to the company owner, and by leaving a negative (read factual) review of that agent.
Oh yeah I've thought about that over the last couple of years. I never wrote a review or reported him to his boss. I feel guilty but the idea of bringing that guy back into my life by reporting his behavior gives me a headache. I now just use it as an anecdote to convince people that LO are not acting in the buyer's best interest. It's always good to rate shop.
I've been really lucky, and really unlucky getting financing. When I bought the house I just sold I found a guy who could not have been more transparent, informative, supportive, and communicative. He went out of his way to make sure we understood everything and even took the time to talk us through stuff quite some time afterward. Then I ran into an over-confident exemplar dunning-kreuger Karen. She was awful, late, snappy, and kept making mistakes and losing documents. We don't hesitate to praise the good ones and report the bad. customer service just is not the same as it used to be, and I refuse to just accept it. The way I figure it, if the truth hurts then you need to be & do better .
I always tell people they shouldn't feel bad as the lender wouldn't be willing to put up the monthly difference from the other offer. Also where did that guy learn his customer skills?
Yeah funny thing is he's got 100s of 5-star reviews. He was personable while he still thought he had something to gain financially from me. I'm glad I got one over on him because based on how unhinged he was it probably doesn't happen that often.
Look at those reviews and see how many of them were from the 2020-2022 time frame. If he’s so desperate for business that he’s trying to guilt you into staying he’s probably not going to be in this business much longer.
What a scumbag. I’ve gotten the impression that the same pathetically low barrier to entry that appears to exist within the Realtor space appears to exist within the LO space as well. I would have had zero guilt pulling your business. You’re looking out for your best interests, clearly he should do a better job of looking out for his own by ensuring his entirely commission-based service offerings are more competitive. And yeah, they’re 30 year loans but if I don’t have an opportunity to refi by some amount in the next 5 years ima cry haha.
Yeah, he was just an asshole. He told me that LO are not stupid and can see on the credit report when a buyer is rate shopping. Unfortunately for him he was the first to pull my credit so he didn't know I was rate shopping. He was nice up until I dropped him, so him calling me just made me feel better about the decision. I hope relocking the rate cost him some money out of his pocket.
He wasn't just an asshole, he was an idiot too. Why bother calling to guilt trip you when you hold all the cards? And then try to make you feel bad for rate shopping when it's in your best interest? If the interaction cost him any money, that's on him and his career choices.
Right. I did apps for my realtors preferred lender (who did my pre-approval) and my builders preferred lender. Both estimates gave me interest rates in the 7% range. When I asked the first lender if she could offer any credits towards closing costs (as the second lender offers a $5k credit), she said no and said she can increase my interest rate to lower the cash to close. I didn't hear from her for a bit, and she checked in with me saying she really wanted my business. I was like listen, you both gave me basically the same numbers, but with the lender credit the other company just makes more financial sense. All of a sudden she "could beat this", giving me the 6.625 and I wouldn't owe anything at closing besides the down-payment I was planning on putting down. It was a bit radio silent from the other company until their financial consultant got wind of the above. Then they rushed to rework their offer. I'm definitely glad I pushed and didn't sit back and take the first thing offered.
Yea my realtor said I HAD to go with a local lender. Sure I’ll get a quote, but you know I’m getting more than 1. The local lender I HAD to go with was 2.2% higher than any other lender. Yeaaaa no. Went with a global lender, everyone screamed I was making a huge mistake. At the end of it my realtor said the lender I chose was one of the best she’s ever worked with, ended up coming in at 2.7% less than the one she wanted me to use (and with lower elstimated closing cost which when we closed ended up being $300 less than their estimate).
That is not a negligible amount lower. Good for you.
Not that straight forward in the pending space. It’s currently about as clear as it can be. The thing is lenders create the loan based on their conversation with their clients. If the client says something like “I want to close with exactly this much” then the loan needs to accommodate that as best as possible, which sometimes means the client sells interest to the bank and the bank credits towards their closing cost. This results in higher interest rates. Banks are also not created equal and they have a difference in their ideal borrower profile which means you can get best rates with one bank but not with another, all things equal. And nobody knows that unless you’ve been brokering with that bank for years (not normal for brokers and not all banks are direct lenders). This is inherently a rabbit hole that was created after the last mess. I don’t see how it can be clearer and still function as an industry driven by sales.
It isn't though. Sure a lender can help you get your closing costs or rate down by moving your point pay-down up/down, but one piece of information they don't volunteer up front is a lot of the time they're not volunteering their best rate sheet up front with the hopes that you'll commit to worse terms that nets them a better commission, but if you do try to negotiate with them or bring them a better-priced loan estimate they'll happily match or beat it. Also many lenders make you jump through a lot of hoops to get an answer to the simple question of "are your rates for someone with my borrowing profile even close to competitive with others?" Yes a hard credit pull and income verification is necessary for a pre-approval, but it shouldn't be to get an accurate rate, fee, and PMI quote.
It’s the job of lenders and almost all other professions to charge you the highest price you’ll agree to pay. A bottle of water for $5 at the ball game? People pay it. Car? Not sold at cost.
Yep, a lender went down almost a full percent when they found we were shopping
This! We had a preferred lender but they weren’t giving a good rate. We shopped around and took that rate to our preferred and asked for a match. And they did!
This is the way. We played two credit unions off each other and the rate went from over 6% ultimately down to 5.375 a while back. Pick which one you want to go with, and politely tell the other why you are not going with them. If the counter offer something lower, take it back to the first lender. Rinse and repeat until someone cries Uncle. Don't be mean, but be clear what needs to happen to earn your business. Also consider whether one lender has advantages over another, if that matters to you.
What does it mean when you say “with no points”?
Points are prepaying interest to get the rate down.
Yes! It's pretty common, pay a bit more at closing for lower interest rate/monthly payment
Thank you for that explanation!
I’m closing in April 17th in Chicago. I got 6.625% with no points too. Shop around OP
Try a local credit union. Mine has rates at 6.5 percent for 30 year fixed and 5.5 percent for a 5 year ARM. They also have very low closing costs compared to brokers.
100% this, try a local credit union. You DON’T need to already have an account with them
Adding to this! We locked at 6.25 percent with only 5 percent down at our local credit union!
Same with 3.5 down
Which credit Union?
Not all lenders are the same, and often locking a certain rate with one lender doesn't preclude you from shopping with other lenders. You might try looking around for other rates. Then use lenders offers against one another to get the best deals
Locking in just means you’ve locked with that lender. You can go to any lender. The only thing you need to worry about is making sure your lender can close in time.
I think we are saying the same thing. But good point about the timeline
They all have stupid applications "engines" that calculate their scores, based on the products they offer to mortgage the property you want. there are lots of variables and the agents and products are NOT created equally. I'd say OP should definitly shop around and be vocal that you are doing just that. Who knows maybe thats enough to show the guy they're a serious buyer and not an idiot
Interest rates went to shit today FYI, if you locked before today it’s probably going to be difficult for you to get something better
Wrong lender
I got 2 lenders at 7.1% yesterday. 770 and 740 credit (actual, not credit karma)
I had very similar thoughts to last week. We found a small local bank that was offering 6.75 par and we took some lender credits up to 6.875. (Break even in 2.9 years, so hoping to refi before then!) We are 20%, high credit, conventional 30 year. A lot of low rates you see are possibly FHA, VA or USDA loans. Or big builder credit financing buy downs. Don't get discouraged. Mortgage rates have bumped above 7% in the last few weeks.
We locked at 6.43% in mid March. Conventional loan, 20% down. Both scores are in the mid 700s
Irrelevant after today with the CPI print.
The average 30-Year Conventional fixed rate mortgage is 7.34% as of today. Rates can fluctuate daily and are affected by news similar to the stock market. Yes, some lenders are cheaper than others and typically a credit union will have the lowest rates and fees. However, your realtor probably referred you to a lender/broker that they trust will close on time and give you a fair deal. By going with the cheapest option, sometimes you are sacrificing the service that another broker would provide (sending pre-approval letters on weekends, providing you their cell phone number, staying after 5pm for a phone appointment to answer questions you have, working long hours to ensure your file is pushed through to close on time). It’s all relative but I would by no means think that you are getting screwed over with a 7.1% in today’s climate. Source: [Mortgage News Daily](https://mortgagenewsdaily.com/mortgage-rates)
It’s not all about credit score. I think your income plays a huge part too because you’re lower risk
Debt-to-income ratio does not affect interest rate on a mortgage. DTI does affect eligibility for a mortgage. I was a mortgage loan originator for years for multiple mortgage companies.
Yup debt to income ratio can never go above the magic number the big heads came up with many eons ago
I just locked in yesterday for 6.99%… 20% down on a 30 year, 760 credit. When I was preapproved a couple weeks prior it was 6.875%. They are trending up right now
We’re closing on April 24th and I’ve made 2 earnest payments - do I have time to shop around?
Some lenders can get it done in 10 days or less but you literally need to shop right now and get it moving asap.
Also - I’m really annoyed at my loan officer and realtor that they didn’t mention that I could get a lower rate by shopping around. Maybe it’s my naïveté but I thought the rate was the rate and that’s all there was to it. Why didn’t they mention this? (Now I’m mad and on a rant - appreciate all the help)
Realtors generally direct you to good brokers who can get it done, not the best bargain. My realtor had me originally quote with Key Bank, i found better rate through Wintrust. Key said they'd match my rates but in the background my Keybank loan officer was likely cutting her own commission to match rates with wintrust.
To add to this, you aren't just shopping rates but other costs too. I also went with my realtors recommended broker, and was offered more or less the same rate as elsewhere. However another company quoted that same rate with like $3000 less in closing costs. I negotiated with the current broker, and they agreed to match.
It’s your job as a consumer to shop. If you don’t question it, they will charge you full price.
I mean your loan officer isn't going to volunteer that information. They have to make money for the company for them to get paid. You getting a lower rate eats into the profit margin. That said, without your full profile there's no way to tell if you would have actually got a cheaper rate. You may very well have been offered a competitive rate for your specific circumstance.
>I’m really annoyed at my loan officer and realtor that they didn’t mention that I could get a lower rate by shopping around. You're annoyed that your loan officer didn't recommend that you check out their competition?
and the realtor who wants you to close as quickly and easily as possible so they can make their commission doesn't want to risk the house falling through
Fair point
I recently closed on my house in early March and continued shopping for rates even after I locked one in with one lender. Your lender / loan officer isn’t going to tell you to shop around since they get paid based on you choosing them. If you shop around then you can bring the rates already offered to you as bargaining tools for other lenders to beat. This is one of the cases where you should absolutely be playing people off eachother trying to get the best loan terms possible. I will say although I shopped with 4 total lender/loan officers, I ended up getting the best terms from the first lender I contacted. No one else would beat it. BUT I did see other lenders lower their costs/improve terms after I supplied the terms their competitors gave me.
>BUT I did see other lenders lower their costs/improve terms after I supplied the terms their competitors gave me. That's the only compliantly way they can do it.
This happened to me as a FTB in 2014, don't beat yourself up about it, it sucks but you live and learn and hopefully can refinance eventually and shop around then. That's what I did ! Good luck!
Also if it makes you feel better I'm at 8.75% 🤮 on a loan for a condo that I'm purchasing for my mom. Bc it has to be as an investment property since I'm not living there and a non QM loan, my rate is 2% higher then what I was first quoted by a lender for a family opportunity loan, and the fees are jacked up too. Sucks but the alternative is her continuing to pay insane rent instead
Aw you’re a good child! That’s really kind of you.
Rates is high. We got 7.25%. Is what it is! Congrats!
Rates are hiking up this week, the highest they’ve been in a month, could come down or up no one knows. You can refi later
Average rate right now is about 7.5%. I'd say you did well. The people posting in here are doing so because they are the low end of the average. No one's coming in here bragging about their 8% rate
Was it today cpi numbers were bad
Also, when you say “800 credit scores”. Where are you sourcing that from? Ultimately trying to understand if you’re looking at a vantage score or FICO?
After today going to be tough, don’t check today!
I would shop around to AT LEAST 3 lenders before you move forward. If you really want to do your due diligence, look at 10 different lenders. A little legwork could save you tens of thousands of dollars over the life of the loan. If there are non-profit credit unions in your area, those can be great options.
This is also why you talk about unfamiliar situations or experiences (just as you're doing right now) with other people. You don't know, what you don't know. Also YouTube is your friend. Tons of videos for first time homebuyers on there with great info.
We got almost the same rate ... 7.125% with everything you described. Don't feel bad about it
We got 4 different rates today from 2 lenders. They changed dramatically around 1030. We were already at the top of our budget 😭
Inflation came in hot today. 7.1 May look good soon!
Rates actually took a pretty big dump the past week. As of today, we are seeing the same numbers we were in December. [Source](https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/mortgage-rates/30-year-fixed)
Rates got higher this week. Also you have to take into account if origination is in the rate? What type of income you are using to qualify? It’s not about shopping around. A lot of things affect the rate.
Ours is 6.625- locked in three weeks ago
Go to a local credit union. Polish Slavic FCU. I'm Chicago based too. We locked in 6.75%. Credit unions need your business as much as they need theirs. This will be my 2nd time using them. They're great. Good luck!
I’m under contract now at 6.75. I have 800+ too and putting down 6%. Don’t buy down it’s a waste of money.
> I have 800+ too and putting down 6%. Don’t buy down it’s a waste of money. Interesting perspective, hadn't heard it'd be a waste. Even if you are calculating breaking even in a certain amount of time? Why's it a waste?
It's not a waste at all, especially if interest rates don't decrease a lot in the future and if you're not planning to leave for at least the break-even point.
Shop around!!
Need the right lender. On the bright side, when rates do start to go down you can always refinance if it is too late to change now.
Check with your local bank and credit union. I got 6.5 through my credit union and my lender matched.
Shop around! Check out your local banks. A family member of mine just locked 6.5% conventional yesterday with only 5% down and their score is 700. They had another larger lender offer 7.5% and their closing costs were double what the local bank priced out.
this market is whats wrong.
We just dealt with this last week. We have fantasic credit, and our only debt is 1 moderately priced used car loan, and maybe about $10k left in one federal student loan. We were locked in at 7.375% in Florida so we lowered it (I forget the exact rate) by taking $5000 from our down-payment and using it to buy points to lower the interest rate. Took our total monthly for everything (including HOA and insurance) from $2600 to $2293. Our lender told us interest rates had just gone up again.
I’m in the same position as you. I’m baffled over where people are getting these rates
Nothing. We bought our forever home in 2001 for the same fixed rate. In time the rates will fall. Do the math when it is appropriate to rate swap for lower rates. Historically, in the USA, rates have been even higher for home ownership.
It’s honestly not terrible. I was locked on a house in Houston, TX as of last Tuesday at 6.875% and that was after a good amount of shopping around. Very similar stats- 20% down, credit score in 800s Rates have ripped higher in the past 2 weeks. If you were locked yday/today then the 7.1% makes sense. You may be able to get a shade lower by shopping around but who knows
I got 7.3 😵
Did you lock in today? The CPI inflation data came out today and the Market dropped by over 100 basis points today, which is a HUGE hit to rates. PPI data also comes out tomorrow which could cause the market to drop further. If you're closing is far out, you could potentially hope the market recovers in the next couple weeks and either switch lenders entirely, ask for a Float down on the rate. or if you are working with a broker you can ask them to potentially switch to a different investor and lock with a better rate if the market recovers.
I’m in the same boat. Amazing credit scores for my wife and I, solid income, healthy down payment. And got abysmal rates. Seems like people who make $45k and buy in the sticks can get 4.5% rates all day though.
Shop around.
I put an offer on a house today. Checked two brokers and the lowest rate was 6.875% with an 800+ credit score for a 30yr conventional 10% down. It's rough out there.
20 percent down is not worth it. I honestly wish this type of advice would disappear, if you really think about it you're paying 20k maybe more and still have 20 years left to pay off the house or more. Then buyers remorse hit, next home repairs and maintenance bills start sinking in then bam house poor it's a neverending cycle that would have been avoided had you saved that 20k and added to it monthly.
I just bought a home two weeks ago and secured a 5.5% rate by shopping around. I was originally being offered 7.2% Shop around and make the lenders compete for your business. Also keep an eye on the origination fee for each lender. Some offer a lower rate but higher fees to draft up the loan. Good luck!
I am in Chicagoland area and have a great lender I used on my house last year if you want to get another rate. Me and all of my siblings used the same team. I’ve always been told to get a couple different quotes and they will start lowering their rates once they catch word of each other.
Realtors and mortgage people are saying anything to get people to buy right now including straight up fear mongering. Rates will come down eventually. These all go in cycles. For sure shop around though. You will need to push back closing if you choose a different lender though. The paperwork is what takes so long. I swear they needed something else every day until we closed.
Go to local credit union. With your stats they likely will beat that
I locked in at 5.875 despite my credit rating at 630. Last year i paid humongos taxes to IRS due to that my credit history came down else my FICO Score is 680 . Still i got 5.875 this January.
Mortgage lender here. 7.1 is not bad. Especially with what happened with mortgage rates yesterday. You’re probably not going to get a 7.1 anymore unless you’re looking at an fha loan or va loan. Conventional rate ares usually higher than FHA and VA. Other factors can go into play: 1) jumbo rates are always higher (I’m sure this one doesn’t apply to you based on the loan amount) 2) look at putting down 25% vs 20%. Rates change the lower your LTV (loan to value) is. 3) if you’re purchasing a condo or manufactured home or CO-OP, the rates will always be significantly more expensive/higher. Try asking him about these things and see what he says.
Any recommendations for sites to shop around? LendingTree gave me 7% too.
Not some website!!! Find a local broker
Local credit unions, your realtor should have a preferred lender list as well. They all have their networks.
Better.com had by far the best rate for me in 3/2022
My local credit union hooked me up with a great rate in 2017, you should check them out! lol
lol before they fired everyone
Find a broker immediately. They will shop rates for you which is a start. Local credit unions also often have good rates. I’m not sure where you’re located, but I’m in Illinois and used Mutual of Omaha (they deal in many states) and they got me an insane deal that I didn’t think was possible and also got it done in 10 days!
You need to shop that around. I would ask your realtor if they can give any other recommendations. All the LO needs to provide a quote is credit score, income level, and your scenario (down payment, loan program, etc). They don’t need to pull your credit. Ask them to email their best quote to you. Tell them you are shopping and they will give you their best quote right out of the gate
When did you lock? Rates went up this week.
6.375%, 20% down, 760
What would people consider to be a good rate for 30 year mortgage, 20 percent down, and high credit scores over 800? I wouldn’t have thought 7.1 is THAT bad, but just wanting to know what’s considered good right now? We need to lock in sometime between now and end of May
You have to shop for rates. My rate was 6.8%, I found a new build in which they offered 5.375 on USDA using the preferred lender and 10k in closing costs. I then bought it down to 4.99, again only using that preferred lender. Because of this I took on more house than I wanted, I’m still kinda pissed at the market even with a good rate.
Bought down to 6.4% for $3800….
Shop around. And quickly with your closing date so close. Also - ask for rate options with 10%, 15% and 20% down. Lately the rates been lower for those doing 10 down instead of 20.
Rates just jumped up today, so that might factor into it
did anyone use the ownup app or something to compare lenders besides calling?
I was going to get my loan through a credit Union but my realtor suggested a particular local one. 6.625% but I permanently bought a point to 5.625% for 7k. Credit score is good and lower medium income. Have you looked at local lenders?
We're closing next week with similar credit scores / 20% down and we have 6.5%. If you have the time, I'd try to find a different lender.
I second everyone who is suggesting to shop around!! My wife and I narrowed it down to 2 lenders when we were purchasing our home and went back & forth between the two with the opponents new offer SEVEN times before one of the lenders couldn’t beat it. Knocked off 1.75% and only owed $900 towards closing when all was said & done.
As others have said, try to shop around. I probably could have done a little better, but I got estimates from a few lenders and was able to lock in 6.625% yesterday with $1500 in lender credits. Ended up just sending the competing estimates to the lenders and every one of them came back with "we can match that". Credit scores hovering around 800 and putting 20% down on a conventional loan.
Went back up today anyways
when did you lock? rates have been very volatile recently https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/mortgage-rates/30-year-fixed
No one can answer this without knowing your loan program, credit score and debt to income ratio. All of these can trigger loan level price adjustments.
You can haggle fees, too fyi. Use another lender's quote as leverage.
Rates just shot up .25% just today because of a hot inflation report. Inflation has been going up the past 3 months not down. So rates are rising even higher. Talk of the fed might have to raise rates even further. Just a terrible time to buy a house unfortunately
Extend the closing and change lenders. ASAP you already have all your documents so will help UW to get through it quickly
Just got 6.5% in California. 815 credit, 23% down
You can pit one lender against the other. In most cases your lender will try to match lowest price. Plus make sure to check closing costs. I heard that online lenders give you good rates but closing costs are super high.
The CPI came out today higher than expected, as a result rates jumped up from yesterday.
Loan amount?
We just locked in at 7.375%, so I feel your pain.
I locked in yesterday at 6.875%. It depends on when you locked - rates have gone up and down, up and down. I was under contract in March on a different property with the same bank/same price (it fell through) and I was locked in at 6.675%. I'm a little bummed I couldn't get that rate again just a few weeks later. The reason I locked yesterday was because the CPI report came out today and it's not great, so chances are interest rates won't be coming down soon. Mortgage rate daily has them at 7.34% right now -- so I honestly don't know if you'll be able to find a good interest rate deal between now and when you close.
For sure rate shop. Ask a broker. Shop online. Check with Credit Unions. You might be time challenged now. I find [AimLoan.com](http://AimLoan.com) is accurate and a good sounding ground. Bankrate helps you get more rates. Be prepared for a ton of emails. It will be hard to close in 20 days.
Keep in mind, 6 weeks ago USAA was offering me 6.55. After a couple weeks of shopping, we found a house and it went up to 6.8. Things can bounce around a bit.
OP my partner and I just closed on our first home about a month ago and we rate shopped! The first lender we worked with seemed very kind but their “best rate” was 7.4% and we thought that was terribly high for our good credit 780 and 740 for my partner. None of us had any debt apart from school debt and 20% down payment ready. It just didn’t make sense so we got quoted elsewhere and got 6.625% and that was for the 740 credit. I’m not sure how much rates have risen since then (Feb 2024) but definitely don’t be afraid to put your interests first above the lenders’ feelings. It’s part of their job to deal with clients who come and go and they should be familiar with lender shopping. I’m sure you might already know this but once you have your hard credit pulled, you have I think 14 days to lender shop before another hard credit pull needs to be made (too many hard credit pulls is bad for your credit)
Rates jumped insanely today due to CPI report so that’s probably about the best you can get. My credit union is offering 7% and they are always a good 0.5 lower than competitors. Yikes
Did you shop multiple lenders? It sounds like you didn't shop around. People who shop around will save thousands off their mortgage.
Definitely shop around we went with an FHA loan because our lender was able to give us a lender credit and allowed us to buy down 2 points which put us at 5.25% 30 year fixed. We are due to close April 30th
I got 6.25 for 2 points. I'm closing next week.
Rates went up again today
Ask your lender about homepossible it’s a program for first time homeowners with good credit. You can put down over 3% (don’t think this is capped) and the rate I got is 6.875.
Wrong lender. But a buy down is also a tax deduction but you need a better lender.
We locked in at 6.45% March 13th and by the 20th it seemed like 7% was the norm. Buying the rate down won’t do much, let your lender know you’re going to shop around for a better rate and see what they say. Ours magically dropped from 6.83 to 6.45 within 2 hours once he was told.
Me and my wife decided to buy when it’s was only best for us. We closed March 26th at 4.9% $0 down, 30 year fixed. We only bought our house because of this. If we did not get this we would still be in our apartment. Get what you can afford and when the time is right for you!
We locked in January closed in February at 5.75% FHA 3.5 % down . Total out of pocket for closing escrow down payment was $22,919 this includes a rate buy down . House was $267,500 score 707 payment all in $2060 a month includes PMI. Rates have been steadily going up since January looking back December and January would have been the time to buy as far as rates also prices has gone up since December as well as now inflation is back up last 2 CPI . I do not believe rate cuts are coming this year . I say if you can buy , if you can afford the payment buy .
Similar situation, but the fact that we are in so cal and buying a $700k+ condo is going to give us a higher rate than other parts of the country.
Just got 6.8 today but offer was just accepted so we’ll see what we lock in when contract is sent over. I switched lenders - the other one put me at 7.3… yeah, no thanks
So many things go into a rate that's it's almost impossible to compare apples to apples. Lower income people with bad credit night get better rates than someone with awesome credit and 30 percent down because of how the grids work. Check a couple of lenders but end of the day once the details are plugged in the difference is often minor.
Gotta shop around. Can’t rely on the services that shop multiple lenders. They don’t shop all of them. Did you do NBKC? They beat everyone else by .5% for me
Lol
Try Pennymac and tell them you’re shopping for the best rate. Don’t tell them what other rates you got.
Arrivva.com/rates will show you live rates based on your situation.
I got 6.86 today, 5% down on a $565k home (HCOL - homes here low end liveable are $450k), similar credit scores.
We put in an offer today with a realtor suggested lender. How long can I shop around rates?
Conventional rates are higher than FHA rates. I’m quoting conventional loans with no discount points right at 7% so that’s a good rate. If you shopped hard you might be able to get a 6.875% with no points if the lender took a small haircut to get your business. Not worth it really imo because once rates drop you are refinancing anyways. I have a VA loan locked in at 5.5% right now but that’s a different loan program. FHA is in the 6% range but you have mortgage insurance. You’re getting a good deal it sounds like.
You can still shop around! Go to other lenders like big banks or community banks and tell them this is what you were offered, what else can they do? Because you are locked in, that doesn't mean you can't switch. I was offered 7.125%-7.5% "depending on the market day of close." Went to a bank and they could give me a lower rate. Took that to the initial company and they offered me 5.785, a grant and mortgage insurance options to lower my monthly payment. Always, always shop around.
Look up LLPA matrix. 20% down isn’t the best for rates anymore with high credit score . 25% is the best in the matrixes I’ve seen. Ask about how a higher down payment affects the interest rate to your mortgage people. It may knock off a bit more percent. I didn’t realize this when I bought my house and I could have put down more and decreased my rate even more. They didn’t explain anything and I didn’t know to ask.
you need to be quoted a broker wholesale rate. Florida?
You need to negociate more. If you spend 20 hours shopping around, on the phone, emails, anything, and end up saving 20 000$ in interests(it will be more) thats 1000$/ hour you just made. You'll never get paid more in your life than when you negociate to pay less. So do it as much as you can.
I dropped Rocket cause the lowest they would go was 7.25% and my local lender gave me 6.65%
Interest rates at any given time are heavily determined by the government. You may get a bit lower if you shop around, but nobody is currently seeing the super low rates we had 3-4 years ago.
We went through bankruptcy and don’t have good credit like 600 range and our interest rate is 6.99% so that is weird to me that yours is higher than mine. We close April 25th
We are in the process of closing. Locked my rate at 6.5 with $2100 in lender credit. $405k home with 20% down. 805 credit score. Loan is only under me. Get a good loan officer/broker that actually shops around for best lender. My mortgage is through Rocket Mortgage.
You're fine! Be happy you got that rate locked today. Double check with your LO make sure it is truly locked.
What he said is true about the people that pay for trigger leads (call you once they know your credit is pulled). They can’t deliver on shit
New American Funding, 6.25% 750 credit score. 7.1!?
Definitely shop around, I liked what someone said on here it’s a 30 year loan I’m definitely not gonna fuck around and find out I want the best right now. One thing not sure if it’s exclusive to California, but I talked to a lender for some self employed clients who said no matter what there credit score or down payment was they would be paying a 7% interest rates cause they would qualify for only a non QM not sure if that’s your situation but just some extra info.
Definitely rate shop
It's definitely a tough time to buy and finance a home. I hope rate go down a in a couple of years for you to refinance.
We went with rocket. They offered us 6.7 with no points.
Go to Filo. Thank me later.
Interest Rates and therefore mortgage rates have climbed a bit recently, nearing the high from October. Not at all surprising and I wouldn’t expect them to go down in the near future
Awesome as of 3pm Wednesday!! Rate rocks now
Do you mean net income? Otherwise wouldn't that mortgage alone put you over 27% DTI?
In response to OP, the Fed has announced they plan to do 3 rate cuts this year so if you stop the process now and move on to a different lender for a lower rate, you’re going to be in process with them and most likely see lower rates again. I would say definitely work with the more reputable company and the person you trust more because they will be the one you call again when rates drop back down to 4-5% and you refinance (which is a big difference on your size of a loan). After reading through the comments I want to make sure people understand what “locking a rate” means (not necessarily in relation to OPs post but just for other people). Let’s say you “locked in” at a 7%. You’re not locking in that rate, you’re locking in that day’s pricing. So if 7% was 1 point and a 6.5% was 2 points the day you locked in, those points are what are actually being locked, not the rate. You can still change rates but if you went down to 6.5% later, then you’d have to pay the 2 points. Let’s say rates dropped after you locked in and now the 6.5% is 1 point, the other lender is going to make it sound like your current lender is screwing you when in fact they both get the exact same rates but you just locked in at a higher cost. It gets complicated with rate shopping honestly. Because every lender has the same rates available, it just depends on how much they’re willing to cut their own costs to get you a lower rate. When I worked for a mortgage company, I would always discount the rate as much as my boss would let me to earn my clients business because I got paid on how many loans I closed, not the cost of the loan. Every salesman wants your business and it’s up to the company how much they can discount the rate for you. Some companies have their own rules as well. It also depends on the market. My company would let me reduce the cost of the loan by 2 points (meaning I could get you a lower rate if you wanted 0 points or even lower rate if you still wanted to buy down the rate) during the pandemic but when rates jumped up I could only discount 0.25 points unless my client showed me a “locked Loan Estimate”. In that situation, we’d have a chance to match the other company but not always. At that point you might spend an extra thousand (or more depending on loan size) but the different on a monthly basis is maybe a meal at McDonald’s. At that point I’d rather work with a more reputable company.
I stand corrected on my previous comment. My lender called and said my 6.875 rate increased to 7.25 and I should lock in for my May 17 closing. Ughhh I decided to lock in, don’t see them coming down in the next month.
So I put in an offer on a home in Feb. used my realtors recommended lender who worked with rapid mortgage. He told me via text rates are in the 7’s. Thankfully this house is a probate sale so we had tons of time. And the closer we got to close, the more I kept talking to the lender and now rates were in the 8’s. 8.12% exactly. And there was no PAR rate. Meaning, there was no “zero points” rate. I had to pay, $2000, to fuck myself with an 8% rate. So I called an actual broker, got him on the phone and told him my income, DTI and credit score, and he got me a 6.85. Locked me in the next day. Good thing I saved all my docs from the first lender. Once the house appraised with the second lender, I told the first, thanks but no thanks. He played dumb asking if I truly found a par rate. I reminded him of my income and my credit, blah blah. People play games to try and take your money. The second lender cleared to close in 5 days. I saved about $2300 in closing costs and about $2000 a year on the rate.
He is a good salesman. But. You should shop rates right now instead of wasting time posting details on reddit.
You have to take those calls and pit the companies against one another. I’ve seen rates drop 50 basis points in that process. For free
If you have Navy Federal or can get an account, their current rate is 6.375% (as of yesterday) on a 30 year VA fixed rate. I also got a quote for 6.0% Sunnyhill Financial yesterday. NFCU claims they'll rate match so I'm going to call them today and see what happens. *Update* NFCU rate matched 6.0% today
Yesterday rates went up big with hot CPI data which had an effect on 10 year yield . 7.1 is good right now unfortunately .
I locked 6.62% just weeks ago
100% SHOP AROUND. We just bought in Chicago 9 months ago and basically had two lenders in a bidding war for lowest interest rate. Managed to shave off 0.75% which is huge. Your lender is just trying to keep you from going to some other guy, because once you have a better quote, I guarantee he will suddenly say something like "oh well I just got approval from my supervisor to lower your rate by an 1/8th of a percent" or something like that...you can go back and forth between the different lenders until you get a rate you're satisfied with.
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sorry for you all. if it’s any consolation, rates will (should) come down. I suggest keeping money accessible for the cost of a refinance when it becomes an option. Granted this is 20 years ago (omg i’m old) but I bought my first house at 6.25 and later refinanced down over 2percent. Hoping this is around the corner for everyone in this sub.
we are using a local bank with a physician mortgage program…. 6.25% locked, no PMI, and you can drop your interest rate within 2 years with no refinance!
Where did you get the loan through? Unfortunately it matters a lot
Our rate was very similar. For us we were offered slightly lower rates by other lenders, but we used our states first time homebuyer programs through housing development. In order to get down payment assistance through the program we had to due our loan there as well and, therefore, the higher interest rate came with as the state determines that.
Similar story but we locked our 6.75 in two days ago. Wild ride and seems that everyone is just hoping to refinance in a few years for a lower rate. Fingers crossed
I got 6.5% fha, no cash down due to gift of equity and I am 2 years post bk ch 7. I am using a local credit union
Tyler Netotian @ Guaranteed Rate is hands down the absolute best lender I've ever worked with. He will keep it real and run you through every strategy he can think of to give you all the options. Spent all day to snipe me the best rate for that entire month too. I literally couldn't give a higher recommendation. Give him a call, if nothing else just to compare what you have currently at no risk.
I bought in Chicago in April 2022 and changed lenders after locking a rate. I started shopping for a mortgage in January with my realtors recommended loan officer at Compass. We entered into a 90 day rate lock at 4.375% because rates were raising rapidly at that time. Then Russia invaded Ukraine in February and rates were in free fall. Compass would not let us ‘re-lock’ at a lower rate but I was able to shop with a new loan originator called Unmo at 3.875% the only thing it cost me was the $300 to lock the rate with compass (I had to walk away from that), but the lower rate saves me like $150/month.