“Why can’t I get the mortgage rate for my refinance I saw in the news?” This question is asked on a daily basis. When you as a homeowner have a mortgage and are paying a certain percentage of the money you originally borrowed, you’re always going to be paying a little closer attention to those mortgage rates you see advertised online, in the news and throughout the media. Unfortunately, almost the entire time, you’re seeing interest rates that are at least 24 to 48 hours old if not longer. By the time the CD interest rate, the market has already shifted multiple times.

Why does this happen? Economic news comes out that influences mortgage rates and that indirectly influences your refinancing situation. It’s not fair, but it happens daily in all we can do it lock in an interest rate on any day of the week and hope that we’re securing a mortgage rate that’s both favorable, fair and reasonable given market conditions and your goals. That is payment reduction, debt relief, principal reduction, improved cash flow etc.

Mortgage tips when shopping shopping for your Santa Rosa mortgage refi

Questions to ask the mortgage lender or mortgage broker or bank:

1. What credit score is mortgage rate refi quote based off of?
2. If my credit score changes how does that affect my interest rate and by how much from one credit score to another?
3. Mr lender are you 100% sure you have my scenario correct, you do know the property is not a single family residence right? This changes things, make sure your lender does the property type.
4. Mr Lender here is my loan amount, purpose, loan program I’m interested in, property type, credit score approximate home value and occupancy give me your best interest rate on a 45 day lock timeframe, a 30 day lock timeframe and a 15 day lock timeframe so I can see the changes between interest rates and make the best decision possible for me.
5. When can I lock in my mortgage rate, refinance?
6. What backup do I have any event my appraisal comes in lower? Meaning, is it a possibility for us to do our mortgage appraisal renegotiation or rebuttal if necessary?
7. Where can I go online to see what mortgage rates are doing on a daily basis so I don’t have to bug you everyday? I want to make sure I’m keeping you honest.
8. What Santa Rosa mortgage refinance option to you think suits me best given my unique situation Mr. lender?
9. How long will this transaction take realistically?
10. Have you personally looked at my credit, debt, income and assets based on the financial information I sent you and how probable is it my refinance loan will actually close?

Use these answers to each refi question to make sure your lender is on top of their game. If they deviate from these answers, get another opinion.

1. Most lenders have loan programs to at least a 620 credit score for conventional financing. If the interest rate seems exceptionally good, it’s usually based off of the 740 credit score or better.

2. .25-/375 change in rate for credit score 700 to 740 on the same loan program, upwards of.5 to 625 change in interest rate for credit scores 620-699.

3. Pricing changes could happen on condominiums, 2 to 4 unit properties, PUD’s.

4. Get a mortgage rate quote on each lock time frame so you can see what type of interest rate you’ll be dealing with depending on how long your lender will take to close your transaction.

5. Most lenders will lock a refinance rate quote when the appraisal has been ordered or when the appraisal comes back because that interest rate is predicated on the loan to value and that might change based on the time you choose to lock relative to the time the appraisal actually comes in and the final loan to value is derived.

6. Make sure your lender has the ability to do an appraisal rebuttal if the evaluation comes into low. You might also want to see if your eligible for the Harp Refi Program.

7. Freddiecom- it’s the only accurate source of a real mortgage rates. Unfortunately unless you’re willing to pay several hundred dollars per month for mortgage backed securities software, we do, the best free website to check mortgage rates is Freddiemac.com, use it as a barometer to make sure you’re getting a fair deal.

8. Usually, your mortgage lender will offer you their advice on what loan program will be most suitable for your situation. If they don’t have one, fire them and choose one that does because the last thing you want is somebody who does not have your best interests in mind.

9. This means they should tell you how many days for a loan approval, how many days for resubmitting for final loan approval, how many days to close escrow. These numbers should be rattled off at their fingertips. For example are refinances take specifically two weeks for a mortgage loan underwriting approval, today’s to resubmit to underwriting for final loan approval and depending on occupancy three days to fund after you sign loan documents.

10. Look four unique characteristics to your income and/or your finances that the lender would only know by actually looking at and revealing the financial documentation supporting your application to borrow money. This ensures that actually looked at your file and can give you an idea of how likely you are to be successful in your attempt to borrow money by refinancing your house.

For more information on refinancing feel free to shoot Scott an email Scott.Sheldon@nafinc.com