How Do I Get The Best Rate?
It is totally normal to wonder how you are going to pay the least amount of interest. Here are some of our tips and tricks for how to get the lowest rate.
1.) Know your credit score
Knowing your credit score is a game changer in securing a better rate and overall financial health! You can easily check with sites like credit karma to give a general idea, but these are never going to align perfectly with a creditor. Some things you can do on your own to ensure your score is up to snuff are:
- Keeping your balances below 30% of the available balance on credit cards
- Avoid getting your credit ran often
- Make timely payments
- Keep a healthy amount of tradelines and debt to show you have a history of repayment
- Continue to make sure you have no collections, judgments, or tax liens.
If you know you have some work to do on your credit, but you aren’t sure where to start, I suggest using a credit repair company specifically through your mortgage lender. We also have a free service where we can have a credit expert review your report and offer free solutions for a short term fix.
2.)Ask for a free home value estimator
Value can be tricky, and companies like Zillow, Redfin etc. aren’t always up to date or accurate. Contacting a professional such as a loan officer or a realtor that works in your specific area as a good step. They can provide up to date comparable homes that have sold recently that are similar to your home. This will help us identify your equity position and its direct correlation to your rate upfront. We have a report available that we can send you at your request.
3.)Employment and Job history
Employment history and income is important to determine the type of loan you qualify for. This goes hand in hand with your debts versus your overall income as well! If you have too much debt, this is going to affect what you qualify for. Additionally, if you are self-employed, more action will need to be taken to verify we have the right loan for you. Self-employed income is pretty solely determined upon the way your file your taxes.
4.)Due diligence
I always tell everyone to get a few different opinions and make sure you trust and feel good about the person you are working with. This may very well be largest transaction you ever make! Using a broker can alleviate the stress of shopping around so you don’t have to do all the extra labor. Brokers are better because they have access to multiple different lenders, therefore being able to shop rates and loan programs that are going to be best for you. Cuts down on time and stress!
Regardless of the interest rate environment, we can help you determine the best rate available to you. Call us anytime: 248-274-4748
