Lowest Home Mortgage Interest Rates 5 Tips

By Susan Willis

Home mortgages have become as much a part of the fabric of modern life as have the automobile, the Internet, and the telephone. Virtually everyone who owns a home has taken out a mortgage at one time or another to pay for it.

Mortgages have become such a fact of life for most of us that we can tend to take the mortgage application process for granted. That is, when it comes time to apply for a mortgage, most of us take the advice of a friend, family member or realtor and just go with the first lender that comes along. We forget our fundamental right to SHOP for the best mortgage rate.

If you are about to enter into the home mortgage process, here are 5 tips for securing the lowest home mortgage interest rates:

1. Research your credit score:

Start by knowing your credit score. Don’t wait for the lender to run your score as part of the application process; by then, they already have you in their clutches. Plus, they can take you off guard if you haven’t researched it ahead of time.

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So, run your credit report with all 3 of the major bureaus (since your score will vary from one to the next) and arm yourself with that important knowledge ahead of time.

2. Call a mortgage lender and get an initial baseline rate quote:

Next, pick a lender at random and get an initial interest rate quote. Just find out the range of rates for which you will likely be eligible, given your credit score, but do not go through the whole application process at this point.

We will call this your “baseline” quote. You will use this to compare future offers. It gives you a place to work from, and it will serve as your backup quote in case you find you had gotten lucky the first time around (which is extremely unlikely).

3. Contact 3 more lenders and get an official quote:

Now that you have a baseline quote, carefully research at least 3-5 more lenders. This is a good time to ask neighbors and friends, but in particular online research can be helpful. Look for “low interest rate mortgage lenders” to find the best deals.

4. Be prepared to discuss your employment history:

Before you apply with these lenders, take the time to prepare important details about your life, such as your residential and employment histories. Put together information from old resumes on the timelines and company names of your past employment.

5. Have a good story ready about your credit history:

Unless you have what they call a tier 1 credit score (above 770), you will want to review your credit reports very carefully. Note any glitches or unflattering items and be prepared to explain them, if asked. If your credit score is on the border between fair and good or good and excellent, such an explanation may push you over the border to the higher bracket – and better rates.

Follow these 5 tips for finding the lowest home mortgage interest rates.

About the Author: Find a list of low-rate home mortgage lenders near you at:

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Source:

isnare.com

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