Intrest Rate On A House

TheSiege

Diamond Member
Jun 5, 2004
3,918
14
81
I have 6.38 I have really good credit. And I'm wondering if I could get a lower rate when I buy my next home
 

chuckywang

Lifer
Jan 12, 2004
20,133
1
0
Originally posted by: Bignate603
Originally posted by: Aimster
ARM

Isn't that what got us into this mess in the first place?

You mean people who buy homes not understanding the terms of their loans, thinking they got a GREAT rate, only to find out a few years later that the rate skyrocketed to something they couldn't afford?

Yes.
 

Aharami

Lifer
Aug 31, 2001
21,205
165
106
interest rates have been heading up since may. When I started looking back in April, it was at 5.75. By the time my closing was coming around in mid July, it had gone up to 7 causing me a whole lot of grief because I hadnt locked in. But then it dropped to 6.5 a week before I closed. Still kick myself in the ass for not locking in when it was ~6%. I doubt rates will be dropping anytime soon, but I hope Im wrong.
 

Aharami

Lifer
Aug 31, 2001
21,205
165
106
Originally posted by: chuckywang
Originally posted by: Bignate603
Originally posted by: Aimster
ARM

Isn't that what got us into this mess in the first place?

You mean people who buy homes not understanding the terms of their loans, thinking they got a GREAT rate, only to find out a few years later that the rate skyrocketed to something they couldn't afford?

Yes.

not defending ARMs but not all people who got ARMs didnt get into said loans w/o understanding the terms of the loan. 5-6 years ago noone thought housing market is gonna crash, so they got ARMs thinking they will be able to refinance before rate increase. 5 yrs went by, housing market crashed dropping values in most homes and borrowers found out that banks wont refinance because of stricter guidelines and because their house has lost a lot value

so yea, stay far away from ARMs (for now)
 

Descartes

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
13,968
2
0
Ours is 6.2, the best possible at the time. When we bought, interest rates were going up. It was near 7 about 2 months later, and then about 8 months or so after that it was back in around 5.75.
 

sjwaste

Diamond Member
Aug 2, 2000
8,757
12
81
Originally posted by: TheSiege
I have 6.38 I have really good credit. And I'm wondering if I could get a lower rate when I buy my next home

That's about the market rate right now. I locked a week ago at 6 3/8% (6.375, like you). Basically, to get below that, you have to find some hot money in the market, but those rates usually evaporate really really fast. You might see some listed on Bankrate, but those are usually teasers to get you to apply. My broker was giving me some education on this, as he basically gets his value through technical analysis, and did a great job for us. For rates to dip below 6.375 on fannie/freddie conforming mortgages, the 6% 30 year coupon price has to break above its 200 day moving average, which is a pretty significant resistance point -- once it breaks, you should see a pretty big downward movement in rates.

He locked us at this rate the same day his investors repriced in the afternoon significantly higher, so looking back, I'm really glad I went with his services. We can float down if rates drop by 3/8 to market plus an eighth, but no luck on that so far. It's usually a 1/2 point spread to float down, but the buyer of our note was fairly conservative on that, and the only money left at the lower rate.

Anyway, bit of a ramble, but take it for what it's worth.

EDIT: I should add, my fiancee and I both have excellent credit (800/760 respectively, I believe), but we're not putting 20% down. You might be able to get some of that hot money if you have a 20% down payment. We're putting 5 down since its not exactly a cheap area to live and will have to eat the PMI for a while. At one point we were looking at market + 3/4% with lender-paid PMI as well, since the payment was about $50/mo lower, but decided against it since we feel we can buy up and improve for equity fairly quickly (hoping for under 5 years).