loan officer Joseph Rivera tells homebuyers not to get bogged down with what they read in most media reports about current mortgage rates.
"Contrary to popular belief," Rivera says,"every interest rate that a homebuyer ends up with is pretty much custom-made or tailored to their specific situation." When homebuyers read a mortgage rate online or hear one on a TV news report, they need to keep in mind that it is an average or a median rate and it is likely not what you'll pay.
"The lender will evaluate what they consider the perceived risk; the higher the risk, the higher the interest rate," says Rivera,"And the higher the cost will be to the borrower."A good credit score lowers your mortgage interest rate; so does a smaller loan amount. A big down payment can drop your interest rate, too. Your"debt to income" ratio -- how much you owe versus how much you earn -- plays a part in the interest rate you will be offered.