Get The Best Mortgage Rate

If you want to know how to get the best mortgage rate, the biggest thing to keep in mind is your own credit history.  You can apply with several lenders and try to negotiate the interest rate and fees until you are blue in the face, but if your credit history is tarnished, your efforts will do you no good.  With tightenging credit standards in the mortgage industry, we cannot emphasize enough how important it is to keep a clean credit history. 

If you need to rebuild your credit before refinancing or purchasing a home, take the time to do it right.  Consult with your mortgage broker on how to appropriately establish great credit.  The internet provides a vast amount of resources on re-establishing credit as well.

The following list will serve as a general guide to obtaining low rates and fees after you have made certain you have an acceptable credit history:

1. Take an application with a mortgage broker - this is where it all begins
2. Establish HOW your broker will be compensated - pay an origination fee to get a lower rate
3. Review the Good Faith Estimate your broker will provide - you should receive this breakdown of costs shortly after your application
4. Ask questions about fees and interest rate - some fees are negotiable
5. Provide your loan officer with any documentation needed - the sooner you get what the loan officer needs, the sooner you can lock your interest rate
6. DO NOT sign your loan documents at closing if the loan or fees are not what you expected  - you wouldn't buy something you don't want, right?