What is a decent rate for a mortgage these days. those of you with mortgaes, what is your current rate on a 30 year fixed?

4/22/2008 2:39:39 PM

mine is 6.5%, i would think that with good credit you could get it for 5.75 now.

4/22/2008 2:46:23 PM

mine is 5.875%

4/22/2008 2:49:11 PM

Just applied for one this past week, and I got right around 5.875% for a 30 year fixed at Wachovia.

Their application is pretty easy and you can see all of rate quotes, closing costs, and plans without ever having to enter your information.

4/22/2008 3:18:12 PM

We got 5.5 for a 30 year fixed at Wachovia, about a month ago.

[Edited on April 22, 2008 at 3:31 PM. Reason : it was def 5.5]

4/22/2008 3:27:31 PM

5.475% from capital mortgage company 2 years ago (sold to WaMu 1.5 yrs ago)

[Edited on April 22, 2008 at 3:30 PM. Reason : meh]

4/22/2008 3:29:43 PM

4/22/2008 3:38:47 PM

did you have to pay points amber?

Im looking to refi, but dont want to pay points. Best rate ive seen is 6% 30yr fixed.

4/22/2008 4:32:04 PM

Do you mean like a down payment? We did have a 20% down payment. Not sure what the difference would have been without it.

4/22/2008 4:45:15 PM

No. He's referring to discount points.

4/22/2008 4:52:04 PM

i got one in february for 5.625%

4/22/2008 5:17:45 PM

amber, you typically have to put down 20% to avoid mortgage ins. A lender will only want to lend you 80% of the value so if you dont pay they can sell it and get their money back. So that is why you put 20 down.

WHat im talking about is points. Sometimes the lenders will make you pay a percentage point to lower your interest rate. ie. you can have a 6.0% rate with no points, and a 5.75% rate with 1 point... SO you pay the extra up front.

4/22/2008 5:37:21 PM

I think mine's gonna be 5.625, 3% down, something like 500-700 in start-up fees. Have to pay the mortgage insurance for a while... once we reach 20% equity we can get an appraisal to prove that we have 20+% equity so then the mortgage insurance goes away. Fortunately, for us the mortgage insurance is only $55 a month, which beats living in an apartment for another couple years saving my pennies.

4/22/2008 7:10:00 PM

i got a 5.75 today with state employee credit union, im pretty pleased with that

4/22/2008 7:31:18 PM

Ok. we did pay 20% down, but nothing else.

4/22/2008 8:40:35 PM

i got my house for 5.8% in feb. 0% down, less than $2k in closing costs

being a good steward of my credit paid off fo shoooo

also knowing how to play the mortgage game, shopping around, asking the right questions etc.

totally thrilled with 5.8% on a 30 year fixed

4/22/2008 8:59:14 PM

i pretty happy with my 5.75 fixed, my credit score is good too, so that helped. i guess being a homeowner will pay off. now another question

what is the best way to fill out a tax W4 once you own instead of rent. dont you want to take home more since you will pay less at the end of the year?

4/22/2008 10:14:33 PM

there are plenty of calculators that'll tell you how to adjust

if you just google it

4/22/2008 10:17:05 PM

what do you search for it as?

4/22/2008 10:17:47 PM

mathman, make sure you get that in writing about your PMI (mortgage ins.). It is my understanding that you will pay that for the life of your loan, unless you refi. I would make damn sure before i sign.

Repub.. NICE ive been shopping around and 6 is the best I can get for 30 fixed and no points. My credit is over 800.. Where did you get it, if I might ask.

4/22/2008 10:23:44 PM

^^

ummm.... "w-4 exemption calculator"

4/22/2008 11:07:32 PM

Quote :

"It is my understanding that you will pay that for the life of your loan"

Uhhh, last I checked they legally had to remove it once your loan to value was 78%.

4/22/2008 11:22:00 PM

^ that's what I'm hoping. I have heard mixed opinions from reasonable folks. I did ask the loan guy rather specifically on this point. He said we will have to have an appraisal done to prove that we have reached the 22% (yeah not 20%, well I have to get out the paperwork...). Then I expect another couple months of feet dragging by the insurance weasels.

But, I also read somewhere that is the law that they are not to charge the insurance once you reach the about 20% mark on the equity. This is sensible since at that point you have made it to the conservative down payment percentage.

Perhaps this is a recent law? Maybe confusion persists because the loan industry used to be able to rip off people... hopeful thinking on my part.

In writing you say... not a bad idea.

4/22/2008 11:39:32 PM

I have a 30yr fixed at 5.625% with 20% down.

4/22/2008 11:43:54 PM

Just got 5.75% with 3% down, 30-year fixed, FHA, 6.1% APR, 0 discount points

In terms of PMI, you have to pay it up until you reach the 20% in principle.

A lot of mortgage lenders will finance the PMI and finance it into your 30-year loan, making the monthly payments lower upfront, but you pay a bit more over the long run. On your loan GFE it's still listed as "Mortgage Insurance" just not classified as PMI as they pay that up front for you.

I got a quote from my bank as well for 5.5%, but due to fees, their APR ended up being the highest (6.4% APR)

[Edited on April 23, 2008 at 12:30 AM. Reason : .]

4/23/2008 12:24:46 AM

Quote :

"Uhhh, last I checked they legally had to remove it once your loan to value was 78%."

this is how mine is, and it's worked into my monthly payments.

4/23/2008 8:28:25 AM

Quote :

"3% down"

did that really change anything?

i found that 0% down and 3% down resulted in the same rate, and ended up just using the 3% i had planned for downpayment to purchase new furniture

4/23/2008 8:28:44 AM

^

My guess is probably not. I put quite a bit more than 3% down and it's still dependent on what the market is doing. It's been hovering @ 5.8 or so for the past month, so I'm holding out a little bit to lock in.

4/23/2008 8:43:43 AM

so what are you guys basing your adjustable vs fixed decisions on? that you'll be in the house for 5+ years at a minimum? SECU has a 2yr arm for 4.25%...but I guess if you can get a fixed for ~5.5% then theres no reason to get an arm unless you're pretty sure you'll be moving soon right?

4/23/2008 8:47:43 AM

^ I don't see the logic in a 2 yr arm.
Maybe a 5 or a 7, but not a 2. If you're going to be in an area that short, you may as well just rent, all the fees to buy and sell the house and stress I can't imagine being worthwhile for 24 months.

4/23/2008 8:53:01 AM

no no you misunderstood. its a 2yr arm, which means the interest rate can adjust every two years...i wasn't saying live in a house for only two years. the only timeframe i mentioned was 5+ years

http://www.ncsecu.org/RatesAndFees/LendingRates.html
http://www.ncsecu.org/Loans/AdjustableMortgage.html

4/23/2008 9:07:55 AM

^^^

The 30 year fixed and 5 year arm were so close when I bought that the decision to go with a 30 year fixed was pretty easy for me. Now it's not so close, but give your scenario above, I would go with the fixed if you can get that rate.

4/23/2008 9:32:52 AM

Adjustable Rate is just plain stupid.
You are just asking for trouble. That is all.

4/23/2008 11:16:50 AM

Quote :

"did that really change anything? i found that 0% down and 3% down resulted in the same rate, and ended up just using the 3% i had planned for downpayment to purchase new furniture "

Yeah, it dropped the interest rate to 5.625 as opposed to 5.65

Not a big deal, but I want to pay off the house asap anyway so its all the same to me.

4/23/2008 11:31:11 AM

There are numerous ways to get around paying PMI. The better way to is take out 2 loans (something like an 80% / 20%). The 80 % is the low rate. The 20% is normally 1.5% higher. The difference is that the 20% loan is tax deductable when PMI is not.

Also, you should check out dnjmortgage.com. I have refi'd with them twice. They are awesome. No closing costs. Nothing rolled into the loan. The catch is that you'll pay about 1/4 point higher on the rate. It depends on the loan, but that difference takes over 5 years to pay off. Since I have refi'd twice, it will take 10 years to make up the money I saved not refi'ing with traditional closing costs. They also do first loans with no closing costs (and I believe nothing down). the market has changed, so Im not positive. Speak to Glenn or Sherry.

[Edited on April 23, 2008 at 2:30 PM. Reason : .]

4/23/2008 2:26:47 PM

yes it is.

4/23/2008 2:30:11 PM

You're right. The law changed since I bought my house (7 years ago). Just did a search. So, PMI is tax deductable, but its still stupid to pay it because it does nothing to pay off your loan. So I still think an 80/20 is the way to go.

However, the deduction is limited:
http://activerain.com/blogsview/323735/When-and-How-is

If your household adjusted income is over 109k, you wont be able to deduct (and it decreased 10% for every 1k over 100k). Even a married couple straight out of college can easy blow past 109k.

[Edited on April 23, 2008 at 2:34 PM. Reason : .]

4/23/2008 2:31:56 PM

or a VA loan guarantee if that's available to you. its like free PMI if i understand it correctly...

4/23/2008 2:33:40 PM

Quote :

"They are awesome. No closing costs."

So, someone could refinance and pay zero dollars?

4/23/2008 2:54:16 PM

most loans these days should be no prepayment penalty so there shouldn't be much of a cost to refinance anyways. if you have a prepayment penatly, you got screwed on your loan.

Quote :

"did that really change anything? i found that 0% down and 3% down resulted in the same rate, and ended up just using the 3% i had planned for downpayment to purchase new furniture"

well for us it was between 10% and 3%, and we put the extra money into a completely new kitchen, refinished floors, wood blinds, etc..

4/23/2008 3:49:15 PM

Quote :

"there shouldn't be much of a cost to refinance anyways"

What about basic closing costs?

4/23/2008 4:07:37 PM

This may be helpful
http://www.bankrate.com/

Lots of information here on personal finance, and a tool to check on a variety of local mortgage rates in any area...

One piece of advice, given the mess that many lenders are in: For a home purchase, make certain that you go with a large, reputable lender. Some small, fly-by-night operations are known to drag things out when rates are on the rise, so that your lock period expires before they'll let you close; unfortunately, this is not illegal (though you should report it to the BBB), and they can force you to pay the new higher rate, even if their foot-dragging caused you to not close during the lock. Also, this can cause a lot of contractual mess, if you can't close on the date stated in the contract. I've not personally dealt with this, I just heard about it on Clark Howard's radio show. For a refinance, where you already have an existing loan, this isn't such a big issue, so just get the best deal you can for that.

4/23/2008 8:29:23 PM

You guys are right about PMI, you can cancel it. Thanks for setting me straight.

David I tried to refi, and they had to do the whole closing costs again. Now they can roll it into the loan... which is shit I think.

I dont know why its so expensive to refi, seems like a rippoff. Esp if its with the same company.

[Edited on April 23, 2008 at 9:35 PM. Reason : .]

4/23/2008 9:35:15 PM

i'd also suggest DNJ - brokers are def the way to go

larger brokers have steeper rates from more lenders
sometimes when getting that 1/8pt+ rate adjustment to get the no-cost, you're still gettin
the same rate that you'd get from a large lender selling their own products.

i'd call glenn - the "no-cost" deal just sounds deceiving.

4/23/2008 9:51:28 PM

"The law states that the lender must allow you to cancel PMI when your equity is 22% or more."

This may be different if you finance the PMI into your full term loan, not sure how that works.

Also learn the difference between the interest rate and the overall APR. The lender with the lowest rate doesn't necessarily mean they'll be the lowest APR which could mean you're paying more than you could.

[Edited on April 24, 2008 at 12:22 AM. Reason : .]

4/24/2008 12:20:12 AM