We have seen extreme amounts of volatility in the rate market, and it becomes increasing difficult for clients and referral partners to deal with it. Nobody has a crystal ball, and despite all the charts, graphs, and trend lines, it is still impossible to know what is going to happen in the rate market in a particular time frame.
That is why for the last year or so I have shared with everyone I speak with the philosophy of “if you like it and the payment works, LOCK IT and move on!” You can always refinance later down the road if the rate market relaxes, and you are protected against the market moving against you.
One of the things we can control is about how interest rates are only one piece of the payment puzzle, and that there are other considerations to think about beyond just the interest rate of the loan. We can address this in many ways, the simplest are product and terms. You can lower the rate any number of ways; improve your credit score, lower your DTI, reduce your LTV, change your loan program to name just a few. But you can also spend a little time looking into a few things that most people ignore, the other components of your monthly payment (and given it’s the payment you are qualified for) this is important to remember.
So, when people want to only have the “rate” discussion, you need to respond by knowing that it’s about the PAYMENT and not the rate.
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