Mortgage Rates are cheap!

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Bobber

Well-Known Member
Apr 12, 2006
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Hudson, Iowa
We bought a new house last week and I got my financing in order this week. Believe it or not I got a 30 year mortgage locked into today for 4%! I couldn't believe it. When I bought my first house nearly 20 years ago, rates were closer to 7%. When I got my second one 11 years ago it was in the mid 5's. Never dreamed I'd see a rate this low. In addition we did a bridge loan which is essentially a home equity loan on my current house and that rate is 4.25% which isn't too bad either.

I've always been one to pay things off early, but this is one of those times I wonder if I'm better off not doing so and putting it into the stock market. Probably won't.:wink:

If anybody is thinking of buying something, great time from a rate standpoint.
 

Warder60

Member
Jun 2, 2006
212
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Denver
What is the interest rate on a FHA tho?

I just bought my first home. I'm out in Washington so its a bit different market. But I went through and got prequalified on FHA (even though I ended up conventional 20% down).
Out here, on a first-time buyer (although with pretty excellent credit) FHA was going to be 4.8%

Conventional I got a bit lower, but not down to 4%, that would be nice!
 

dmclone

Well-Known Member
Oct 20, 2006
20,690
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50131
I refinanced to a 20 year just last month and it was 4.5 but that was with no points.
 

CarolinaCy

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Apr 18, 2008
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What is the interest rate on a FHA tho?

We are closing on a house in Sept and locked in an FHA loan last week at 4.25%. I assume lower credit scores might mean higher rates, as with any loan/mortgage.

Also, since you're putting down less than 20%, you'll have to pay mortgage insurance, which means some of the premium costs are up front, in addition to your closing costs and down payment, and you will have a monthly charge too.
 
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Three4Cy

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Jan 19, 2010
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West Des Moines
We are closing on a house in Sept and locked in an FHA loan last week at 4.25%. I assume lower credit scores might mean higher rates, as with any loan/mortgage.

Also, since you're putting down less than 20%, you'll have to pay mortgage insurance, which means some of the premium costs are up front, in addition to your closing costs and down payment, and you will have a monthly charge too.

FHA loans have what's called a Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP). You pay the Upfront costs at time of closing on the loan, which is 2.25% of the loan value. Then you pay it monthly as part of your payment. It will drop off when the Loan to Value on your home is 78% or less, or you refinance into a conventional loan. If your seller is paying closing costs, this can be applied to the Upfront MI charge to help reduce it. The Upfront MIP is often scary for buyers because it is a pretty decent sized charge to pay at closing.

FHA now requires a minimum 580 credit score, but a lot of lenders go above and beyond and require a higher score. You need to check with your lender on credit score requirements. And yes, mortgage pricing is based on risk, so a lower credit score indicates a higher risk, so higher interest rates.
 

brianhos

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Jun 1, 2006
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Trenchtown
If I could actually sell my current house I would probably be looking at making a big upgrade, but that is the last thing I want to try and do right now.
 

Bobber

Well-Known Member
Apr 12, 2006
8,880
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Hudson, Iowa
If I could actually sell my current house I would probably be looking at making a big upgrade, but that is the last thing I want to try and do right now.

Yeah we're faced with selling our current house now which is somewhat worrisome. It's paid for, so that helps. We won't be stretched from a cash flow standpoint with the new payments. Am looking forward to to rolling the cash into the new loan however.

We're interviewing several good real estate agents and am confident a good one helps(I happen to have my real estate license too).