We're Buying our First House (and other happenings)! Exciting Times...
- Thread starter john_pifer
- Start date
wemay
Site Donor 2023
Congrats!
6.25% without buying it down.
GON
$150 Site Donor 2025
I would not "buy down" at 6.25 %. Nobody knows the future, and many people much smarter than me think the rates will not be falling anytime soon. But things change, if the fed is under certain pressures, reduction in interest rates is a tool that has been used in the past, and will be in the future.
If mortgages are at six plus percent, interest on bonds and certificates of deposits may be significantly higher than they have been for the past decade. If CDs start paying real returns, money will leave the stock market for senior citizens and pension funds. I am not sure the federal reserve wants money leaving the stock market. So, keeping benchmark rates low may be the real intent, although we see different in press releases.
China has a risk to its politics because residential real estate values are collapsing, and the majority of middle-class Chinese have their retirement savings in residential real estate. What is going on in China may be sending concerns to certain people in the USA. I would not be surprised to see interest rates below five percent before the next presidential election.
Congratulations on the house and babies! We’ve got 2 boys that are 20 months apart, a 4 year gap, and then we’ll have another 2 boys that are 15 months apart.
We have 2.1 acres, but I went with a 50” Cub Cadet Ultima ZT2 zero turn, I can mow everything in about an hour. Your yard looks pretty flat, you would probably get away with a ZT1 (“non-serviceable” hydros, my ZT2 has ZT-2800 hydros with external filters). But I’d go gas for the weed eater for sure, I LOVE my Husqvarna 525L.
We have 2.1 acres, but I went with a 50” Cub Cadet Ultima ZT2 zero turn, I can mow everything in about an hour. Your yard looks pretty flat, you would probably get away with a ZT1 (“non-serviceable” hydros, my ZT2 has ZT-2800 hydros with external filters). But I’d go gas for the weed eater for sure, I LOVE my Husqvarna 525L.
Some home inspectors are a joke. Good thing you’ll be there. Check over anything and everything you can. The best part of home ownership is the payment never changes. Rent goes up with inflation and your payment doesn’t.
Yeah but with taxes and insurance increasing yearly it feels about the same
True. Taxes are deductible in some statesYeah but with taxes and insurance increasing yearly it feels about the same
Inspection went well. Just a few things that they found, none major.
I think I'll skip buying down the rate and save the cash for things like lawn equipment, furniture, window treatments, and other things we'll need. Of course, Christmas is also not that far away, and I'd like to decorate, put lights up, etc.
Currently waiting for a homeowner's insurance quote (actually, it will be a bundle policy that will also include our vehicles) to come through from my current insurance broker (Zander Insurance here in Nashville), so I can compare it with a quote I got from another broker. The quote from the other broker is saving me some money over what I'm paying for auto insurance now, and also giving me better coverages. So we'll see if Zander can do better.
I think I'll skip buying down the rate and save the cash for things like lawn equipment, furniture, window treatments, and other things we'll need. Of course, Christmas is also not that far away, and I'd like to decorate, put lights up, etc.
Currently waiting for a homeowner's insurance quote (actually, it will be a bundle policy that will also include our vehicles) to come through from my current insurance broker (Zander Insurance here in Nashville), so I can compare it with a quote I got from another broker. The quote from the other broker is saving me some money over what I'm paying for auto insurance now, and also giving me better coverages. So we'll see if Zander can do better.
Thanks for everyone’s comments and advice!
Couple of bonus photos:
Couple of bonus photos:
Check around. Bank of America is quoting 5.75%. I used to have a good rep there that used to not charge me any points and quote me slightly lower rates than whatever they had posted. Stopped using them years ago when they couldn't close on time which is why lots of people hate using them. There should be other lenders that are competitive on the rates though, I have 6-8 other lenders that I use and it varies which one buyers end up using as sometimes one bank is competitive and next time they're not. So I always say you should check with at least 3-4 lenders to find the best rate. For high purchase price mortgage brokers are usually good, for lower purchase prices, credit unions and banks tend to have better rates. I see some credit unions and local banks are still in the 5-5.5% range. Shop around and also see what fees they charge by asking for the loan estimate. I had one buyer check with 6 lenders and the 2nd cheapest guy was $200 more than the cheapest and he asked that guy to lower his rate so he dropped it by $400 so he was then $200 cheaper than the cheapest guy. But he probably could have asked the cheapest guy to lower his rate a little more and mention the other 5 guys he was talking with.
If you think rates might go down in the future, there are 5/1, 7/1 and 10/1 ARMs which are adjustable rate mortgages. The 5 year one is a 3.75%, 7 at 4.125% and 10 at 4.375%. You could just do the 10, pay it down and then sometime before the 10 year rate expires you can lock into a lower rate 15 year mortgage.
GON
$150 Site Donor 2025
When I refinanced in 2020 I lived in UT and went with Community National Bank. CNB rates were considerably less than any other bank I checked, to include Wells Fargo, USA, PENFED, and NAVFED. Wells Fargo had my current mortgage and I wanted to refi with Wells, but they were almost one percent higher than the CNB rate.
I did some research on why CNB was so much less. The reason I found was CNB, and handful of other mortgage brokers in the Missouri/ Kansas area write loans nationwide, but their cost structure and commission plans are considerably less than the vast majority of other financial institutions. No idea how accurate this is- but my rate was over .5 percent less than any other rate I could find.
here is the contact info for CNB if desired:
Community National Bank
6505 N Prospect Ave Ste 400
Gladstone, MO 64119
816-587-6800 office ext 182
I did some research on why CNB was so much less. The reason I found was CNB, and handful of other mortgage brokers in the Missouri/ Kansas area write loans nationwide, but their cost structure and commission plans are considerably less than the vast majority of other financial institutions. No idea how accurate this is- but my rate was over .5 percent less than any other rate I could find.
here is the contact info for CNB if desired:
Community National Bank
6505 N Prospect Ave Ste 400
Gladstone, MO 64119
816-587-6800 office ext 182
Thanks guys. I've actually already made my decision on the lender. Appreciate the info - maybe it can help someone else who's looking to borrow or refi.
Anybody heard of Donegal Insurance Co?
I asked my broker to shop around and she said Donegal was the best deal.
It's just that I've never heard of that company.
I asked my broker to shop around and she said Donegal was the best deal.
It's just that I've never heard of that company.
You can always dump them unless they already locked you in with an appraisal fee. But that's pretty much all you pay. No real reason for that high a rate. Appraisal fee is typically in the $300-$500 range and if they haven't gone out and done it, you should be able to cancel the loan without any fees. Or you can just go back and beat them up about the rate unless you already locked it. How many lenders did you shop?
If you have good credit you can beat them up........
My business uses it. No problems but never made a claim.
Well about 70% of the people have good credit scores. But even if you don't you can still try to beat them up. They're probably not used to it because back in the subprime days, one reason lenders would hook people were that they were afraid to shop around so the subprime people got hit with the highest rates/fees. I knew someone who learned the mortgage business at countrywide and he used to brag about how much he hit a borrower with bad credit. Would just throw out all these fees and the borrower was just happy to get a loan and didn't care about the fee/rates but there were many other lenders out there and he could have shopped around.
I’d shop around, but I’m not sure I have time, with closing being on Sep 28…
I shopped a few banks. A couple were obviously high, a couple didnt communicate well or we’re hard to get a hold of, and a couple were hitting me about the same.
Last week or week before, I got a quote for 5.875%, but then rates went up this week.
Im not sure about switching things up now. Would hate for something to go wrong and lose the deal on the house. I’ve heard of things like that happening.
With my job, I don’t have a lot of time during my work week (which starts tomorrow). I work 4:45 am - 4:30 pm, Wed-Sat.
I shopped a few banks. A couple were obviously high, a couple didnt communicate well or we’re hard to get a hold of, and a couple were hitting me about the same.
Last week or week before, I got a quote for 5.875%, but then rates went up this week.
Im not sure about switching things up now. Would hate for something to go wrong and lose the deal on the house. I’ve heard of things like that happening.
With my job, I don’t have a lot of time during my work week (which starts tomorrow). I work 4:45 am - 4:30 pm, Wed-Sat.
Similar threads
