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The-Mortgage-Gal

How does your lender deal with mortgage rate drops?

Mortgage rate drops

Usually when I write my column, I share stories of what not to do with respect to your financing. Today is a little different.

This week, I have had the pleasure of working with a most lovely client. Her application is the cleanest and most straightforward file I have seen in several years.

We started her application and her home sold the next day. Several days later she found exactly the new home she was looking for. Everything proceeded according to plan.

The closing date on her purchase is about three months out because the home she’s buying is currently a rental so the tenants need adequate notice.

Part of our conversation, as she was signing off her initial mortgage paperwork, was about the choice of lenders. I sent her application to her current lender because she is happy with them and requested we use them again.

In other columns I’ve shared how not all lenders are created equal. One of the reasons I like this particular lender is because it will continue to reduce her rate should it drop its interest rates.

Lenders have different policies as to how they handle rate reductions. For instance, one lender I work with will only allow one rate reduction and there are no backsies, meaning if rates drop even further, we need to guess when the lowest rate it will offer between now and closing might be. If we ask too early, we are stuck with a potentially higher rate than what is offered currently. If we wait too long, and rates increase, we lose out on a better rate.

Some lenders do a look-back at closing and automatically offer clients the lowest rate from when they approved the mortgage to when the mortgage finalizes. Others are open to multiple requests to reduce the rate.

Unless there is a compelling reason to use the lender that only allows one rate change, I work with other lenders that allow multiple rate changes.

I’m seeing fixed rates trending down right now and I am cautiously optimistic we will see more of this in the spring.

If you are working on a purchase, or have a renewal coming up, one of the questions to ask your mortgage person is how your lender will handle your rate should rates continue to trend down.

That seems like a simple thing but working with the right lender (and mortgage person) may make quite a difference in your bottom line.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.



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About the Author

Tracy Head helps busy families get a head start on home ownership.

With today’s increasingly complicated mortgage rules, Tracy spends time getting to know her clients and helps them to better understand the mortgage process. She supports her clients before, during, and after their mortgage is in place.

Tracy works closely with her clients, offering advice and options. With access to more than 40 different lenders. She is able to assist with residential, commercial, and reverse mortgages in order to match the needs of her clients with the right mortgage package.

Tracy works hard to find the right fit for her clients and provide support for years down the road.

Call Tracy at 250-826-5857 or reach out by email [email protected]

Visit her website at www.headstartmortgages.com

Download her app: Headstart Mortgage Architects

 

 



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The views expressed are strictly those of the author and not necessarily those of Castanet. Castanet does not warrant the contents.

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