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Just how do you get one of those super low mortgages?

This week, Freddie Mac reported home loans hit new historic lows with the 30-year fixed interest rate averaging 3.53 percent and 15-year fixed rate loans dropping to an average 2.53 percent.

South Florida lenders and Freddie Mac said applicants can snag the low rates with a good credit report and stable income. People have to be ready to provide pay stubs, tax returns and banks records to back up their application, said Brandon Watson, a Wells Fargo home sales manager.

“The low interest rates are for real,” he said. “But it takes patience. We’re having a huge rush.”

People should shop around: Small lenders may offer interest cheaper rates than the nation’s largest banks that may have higher overhead costs, said West Palm Beach mortgage banker Adam Cohn.

Miramar-based Tropical Financial Credit Union, for example, was offering Friday a 30-year, fixed rate loan at 3.375 percent — a lower than Freddie Mac’s averages.

“We just wanted to get competitive in the marketplace,” said Doug Leever, mortgage sales manager at Miramar-based Tropical Financial Credit Union. The rates change daily, he added.

Other lenders were offering cheap online deals Friday to Floridians, such as AmeriSave’s 3.25 percent for a 30-year fixed rate loan.

Many of the lowest home loan rates require applicants to provide at least 20 percent down – or have that much in equity. Tropical Financial’s low rates were based on a scenario of the buyer borrowing a $150,000 mortgage on a home that’s estimated to be worth $200,000.

“The more equity you have in your home for refi [or] the more you can put down for purchase” tends to give you a lower interest rate, said Chad Wandler, a spokesman for the secondary lender Freddie Mac.

Many applicants also can expect to pay some up front lender fees — the average is 0.7 percent for the Freddie Mac 30-year 3.53 percent loan, Wandler said. For a $200,000 mortgage, that amounts to $1,400. It’s slightly lower for a 15-year loan – 0.6 percent or $1,200 for a $200,000 loan, he said.

The higher your credit score also gives you more of a chance for lower interest rate, Wandler added.

Mortgage broker Cohn tells his clients to limit their charging on credit cards while they are applying for a home loan. Charging more than 30 percent of a credit card’s limit will likely weaken your credit score, he said.

Buying big-ticket items can also endanger your chances for getting a mortgage, Cohn added. One man foolishly bought a BMW on credit before he closed on the mortgage for a house he wanted to buy, Cohn said. “That killed the deal,” he said, since the new loan put his total debt load over the bank’s acceptable limit.

FHA  loans also may offer lower interest rates, but consumers will likely ending up paying more. That’s because loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration require mortgage insurance since homebuyers are putting little down to buy their home. Most lenders don’t require the insurance if home buyers make a down payment of at least 20 percent.

If you’re getting ready to purchase or sell a property in South Florida please call me at 954-895-7123 or email me at shaunclarkesells@gmail.com