Getting the Lowest Home Mortgage Rate

The only way you can be certain of getting the lowest home mortgage rate is by comparison shopping. By getting quotes from several different lenders and comparing them, you can determine which of these rates is the best.

There are many different home mortgage sources available, including mortgage brokers, mortgage companies, credit unions and savings and loans associations. The best way to find out who will give you the lowest home mortgage rate is to get at least one quote from each lender. Keep in mind that borrowing money from a credit union requires that you be a member of that credit union.

To guarantee you are getting the lowest home mortgage rate, you should ask each lender for a list of current mortgage interest rates. You also need to find out if those interest rates are quoted for the day or the week. This will provide you with an indication of the time frame you have to apply for the mortgage to receive the rates included in the list.

You also need to know whether the rates you are being shown are adjustable or fixed. Adjustable rates can increase or decrease over time, while fixed rates will remain the same throughout the life of the loan.

The best mortgage rate is accompanied by the lowest annual percentage rate, or APR. The APR will include more than just the interest rate applied to the loan. It also includes broker fees, points and other charges that you will be required to pay.

The APR is expressed as a yearly rate. The APR is important for helping to determine the lowest home mortgage rate because it is possible for charges other than the interest rate to be higher.

Remember that you are not locked into the numbers written on a piece of paper. You have the option to negotiate with a lender to receive the lowest home mortgage rate. On any given day different customers receive different terms for the same loan.

In many cases, the amount quoted to you by the broker or loan officer contains unnecessary overages that can be negotiated. Don’t wait for a loan officer to offer you the lowest mortgage rate, instead you should ask for it.

Once you are given a quote by a lender, have the lender break down each of the costs associated with the loan. You may notice that some of these costs seem out of the ordinary. Start negotiating the lowest home mortgage rate by asking the lender to lower or even waive some of the fees associated with the loan.

You can also ask that the interest rate or points be reduced. During the process, make sure the lender isn’t reducing one cost or fee and simultaneously increase another.

When you feel you have negotiated the lowest home mortgage rate with a lender, you should request a written lock-in from the lender. The rate and fees that you agreed upon should be included in the lock-in. By doing this can you protect yourself from rate increases that may occur while your loan is being processed.




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