Do we lock in our 30 year mortgage rate today or wait?

[yoopermom]

Our banker just called and said it will be 3.875% if we lock in today, or we can gamble and wait a few days to see what the market does. My DSM (who is in finance) is of the opinion that it's a throw of the dice, but that the above rate is pretty darn good. Every .125 change in interest is about $7 in monthly payment. (We aren't going with a different bank to try and get a lower rate, that's out!) So people with a crystal ball, do we lock it in today or wait and see if it goes a few tenths of a point lower?

Terri

 

[havaneselover]

Forecasting interest rates is next to impossible. The 10 year plunged today on bad data. 3.875% is a great rate. I'm risk averse so I would jump on it. But I think it's more likely to fall then rise in the short term.

 

[yoopermom]

Risk averse, that should be my middle name!

I was all ready to lock it in immediately, and DH was like, maybe we should wait....

Crazy!

Terri

 

[havaneselover]

Risk averse, that should be my middle name! I was all ready to lock it in immediately, and DH was like, maybe we should wait.... Crazy! Terri

My dad forecasted interest rates for a living. I work for an economic consulting firm but don't work on our forecast. That said Europe is a mess, china is slowing, and Ebola is scaring people. The ten year hit a 16 month low today. My gut says it goes lower but 3.875 is very low.

I locked at 3.49% in feb 2013. I'm very grateful for low rates. It makes my tiny budget go much further

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I have been watching rates, too, and I noticed they dropped today a little bit. DH said it was because of the airline stocks, apparently they tanked because of the Ebola crisis (from what he heard on the news, people afraid to fly), and that drove rates down a bit. I'm in the same boat as you, though, deciding whether to lock in or wait.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

See what rates do tomorrow! (If you haven't locked in already.)

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/oct/15/ebola-economic-concerns-european-us-stockmarkets

 

[ICF]

I'd lock....we have a great 2.875% rate, so I've not followed rates lately but your rate seems pretty good.

 

[yoopermom]

They talked me into waiting til tomorrow so we will see. I hate the uncertainty!

 

[jmb912]

Also watching the rates...we are building a house and are 60 - 80 days away from completion. Our bank today had 3.50 percent with -.75 points back. I want to lock in so bad but we will have to pay a fee to lock in early. So trying to figure out how much we want to gamble!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Well, tomorrow's another day. Who knows, with all this craziness going on, maybe they'll go down more! (Fingers crossed!)

http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/consumer_rates/399013.aspx

 

[havaneselover]

I have been watching rates, too, and I noticed they dropped today a little bit. DH said it was because of the airline stocks, apparently they tanked because of the Ebola crisis (from what he heard on the news, people afraid to fly), and that drove rates down a bit. I'm in the same boat as you, though, deciding whether to lock in or wait.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

See what rates do tomorrow! (If you haven't locked in already.)

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/oct/15/ebola-economic-concerns-european-us-stockmarkets

Mortgage rates are tied to the 10-year Treasury yield. Treasuries are safe haven assets. The Dow was down 450 point or so at one point yesterday on bad economic news (retail sales fell and producer prices declined unexpectedly suggesting domestic weakness) coupled with Ebola news. When the market gets pummeled, people buy Treasuries (driving prices up and yields down) and mortgage rates fall typically. So ebola was involved in unnerving investors, but mortgage rates don't have much to do with airline stock prices.

 

[yoopermom]

Well we locked in this a.m. at the same rate so all is good. Now I'm just not going to watch in case it goes down more....
Terri

 

[havaneselover]

Well we locked in this a.m. at the same rate so all is good. Now I'm just not going to watch in case it goes down more.... Terri

Congratulations!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Well we locked in this a.m. at the same rate so all is good. Now I'm just not going to watch in case it goes down more....
Terri

Good for you! Mine, so far, is the same as yesterday (which is good; 15 yr @ 3%.)

 

[OhMari]

You have 30 days with that rate, in 30 days, if it is lower, you can take the lower rate. We are wondering if we should lock in too. We are sitting with an ARM building our house. My sister works for BMO Harris and she said they got an email and was told these next few weeks are the lowest rates that are going to be for a long time, they expect the rates to start climbing after November. We are with Associated Bank in FDL-my son locked in and just bought a house in Milwaukee and his was 3.75. I remember years ago when rates were unheard of in the 3's. We were in the 7's, then 5's. The last couple of years we have been in the 3's.

 

[Kellydelly]

I am jealous. We just closed on a new mortgage last week with a rate just over 4% for 30 yrs. I am amazed at the low rates! You are lucky ! Now I want to refi, LOL. The rates actually climbed a touch during our underwriting period .

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

Question: We are at 3.25% and I know it sounds silly to consider refinancing right now but we have 5 years left on our mortgage with a PMI. Our PMI is $446 a month. If we refinance, we will save approximately $441 a month for the next five years PLUS we'll be able to claim more on our taxes with more interest for the rest of the loan. My dilemma is, my husband is the primary on the mortgage but his credit has dipped dramatically since purchasing with opening credit cards for things for the house etc. Mine, however, is in the low 700s, so decent.

Would we be able to refinance using my credit even though he is the primary on the original loan and makes more than I do? (About twice as much) When I type in all the numbers it all ends up coming out about even after 30 years with savings from PMI, but with more interest, but also more to claim on our taxes. Any opinions? I'd love to save an additional $441 a month right now!

Edit to add that we have contacted our lender but we haven't received a response since I'm sure he's dealing with a large number of clients right now. Just thought I'd get all of your opinions while we wait patiently.

 

[Kellydelly]

Question: We are at 3.25% and I know it sounds silly to consider refinancing right now but we have 5 years left on our mortgage with a PMI. Our PMI is $446 a month. If we refinance, we will save approximately $441 a month for the next five years PLUS we'll be able to claim more on our taxes with more interest for the rest of the loan. My dilemma is, my husband is the primary on the mortgage but his credit has dipped dramatically since purchasing with opening credit cards for things for the house etc. Mine, however, is in the low 700s, so decent.

Would we be able to refinance using my credit even though he is the primary on the original loan and makes more than I do? (About twice as much) When I type in all the numbers it all ends up coming out about even after 30 years with savings from PMI, but with more interest, but also more to claim on our taxes. Any opinions? I'd love to save an additional $441 a month right now!

Edit to add that we have contacted our lender but we haven't received a response since I'm sure he's dealing with a large number of clients right now. Just thought I'd get all of your opinions while we wait patiently.

I don't understand why you are still paying PMI with only 5 years left on your loan? Don't you have enough equity at this point to drop the PMI? We did from our first mortgage within a couple years of the home purchase.

I don't think you can refi in just your name alone. That isn't going to work. Of course it depends on the amount of the loan, I guess.

 

[Judique]

I don't understand why you are still paying PMI with only 5 years left on your loan? Don't you have enough equity at this point to drop the PMI? We did from our first mortgage within a couple years of the home purchase.

I don't think you can refi in just your name alone. That isn't going to work. Of course it depends on the amount of the loan, I guess.

I took it that she has to pay the pmi for 5 more years?

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

I took it that she has to pay the pmi for 5 more years?

You are correct - approximately 5 years left until the loan reaches 20% in which case we'll still be paying PMI. But my house has increased by at least 30% in value since purchasing and by refinancing we can get rid of the PMI.

 

[Hofmanns4]

Call your lender. You may be able to pay for an appraisal and have the PMI removed without a refi. We did that 6 months after we moved in without a refit. It is not part of the loan.

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