What low mortgage rates mean, and where to get a loan
If you clicked on this blog post, you’re likely aware that mortgage rates have been beyond historic lows in the last few months. A mortgage rate is the rate of interest charged on a mortgage. Seeing rates as low as the 1’s and 2’s is unprecedented.
But let’s think about those numbers for a second. Right now, we’re below inflation rates. When rates are this low, it means that the interest that you’re paying is minimal. The money is so cheap, and whether rates are in the 1%s, 2%s, or even 3%s, your savings could be significant. It could be $100 off your monthly payments, or it could be hundreds of dollars, depending on how much you’re borrowing.
Or, consider this: with the lowest rates, you could get more home for your money.
If you’re not quite ready to buy a home, you’re probably wondering where rates will go from here. Well, it’s a new administration, so it’s hard to predict. Can it go lower? I don’t think so. Likely, there’s going to be a little uptick in rates.
But even if there is a rise, interest rates will still be historically low. Right now, we’re seeing an unprecedented low, but 3%s are still a historic low. And you can still take advantage of that.
If you are ready to look for one, make sure you’re ready for the mortgage pre-approval process, then decide where you’re going to get your mortgage loan.
As we’re entering a more digital environment, it would be in your best interest to ask around for the banks, credit unions, mortgage lenders, mortgage brokers, and online mortgage companies that your friends and families have used to acquire a mortgage. Everyone’s so connected these days—take advantage of that. Whether you have 10 friends or 1,000 friends in your social media circle, it’s easy to access someone within that landscape and a referral goes a long way. Use your social network to look for a mortgage professional.
That leads me to my best piece of advice: Go to a CDFI like Quontic. In addition to offering all the traditional loan programs, we are a CDFI, or the Community Development Financial Institution, which means we can uniquely cater to underserved communities (i.e. anyone who can’t fulfill the traditional lender’s extremely strict lending or income documentation requirements). We have programs for individuals, for example, who have a strong history of self-employment but have difficulty documenting income, have volatile income, or who earn 1099 income. This could be someone who works in the gig economy, who is a millennial, an immigrant, and/or low-income: handymen/women, nannies, those who run an internet-based business, and so much more.
As a CDFI, we open up a lot of mortgage lending opportunities for those people, who are trustworthy borrowers, but unable to adhere to the traditional “mortgage documentation rules” of lending. At Quontic, those are the communities we’re designed to help. That’s what makes us special.
Remember—you have options, and you’re definitely not alone in wanting to take advantage of these opportunities for historically low mortgage rates! If you need assistance in figuring out where to start, reach out to our team at Quontic. We’re here to help.