Michael's Mortgage Minute | Tips for Buyers on Mortgage Rates and Tools to Use

One of the most important steps when considering the purchase of a house is finding a good mortgage lender and understanding your mortgage rate, the down payment and monthly payment you can afford, and how the mortgage interest rates will impact your purchase.

In this video, Michael shares some tips about the current historically low mortgage interest rates, as well as free resources for you, the buyer, to take advantage of so you can better understand your purchasing power.
 
"Hi everyone, Michael here, and today we are going to talk about mortgages and specifically how the mortgage interest rate can affect your payments. 

So I picked an arbitrary date in 1978 to use as an example and it was the day that “Grease” came out, which is one of our favorite movies, so in 1978 in June the interest rates were 9.719 percent and for those of you who were around then house shopping you probably remember that.
 
 In 1982 they went up to something like 18% so the point I'm making here is our rates today are crazy low
 
So Danny and Sandy back in June 1978 probably had to sell Greased Lightning in order to afford a house. Here's an example  of the numbers:
 
A $400,000 house at 9.71% interest rate meant a monthly mortgage payment of $3,422
 
Let that sink in
 
Now, when I pop in today's interest rates which are about 3.5%, here’s how it changes:

The same $400,000 house at 3.5% interest rate is only a $1,796 monthly payment
 
A couple of days ago an article was released by the National Association of Realtors that talks about this low interest rate economy that we have right now and mentions that these sub-four percent rates  over the last few years WILL NOT last and it is NOT normal for the market.
 
But it IS something to be taken advantage of. Therefore, the time to buy is NOW! You’re not only buying the house, you are buying the low rate!
 
If you are in the market right now and considering purchasing,a few things that we suggest for you regardless of whether you are buying here in Southwest Florida or if you're in another state 

• First - get a mortgage calculator for your phone we use this mortgage calculator called “Mortgage Calculator Plus” (orange icon in the App store). It has a bunch of great features that let you log in things like taxes and HOA payments to really understand what a monthly mortgage payment would be for the house. And, it’s FREE!

 

• Second, let's take it to the next level – you’re ready to start house shopping and you need to fully understand your affordability scope and get a preapproval letter, etc. There is a website that one of the lenders that we have often used put together (we use several lenders, but we really like this particular tool on this website). *Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with this I am NOT promoting it for any purposes other than the fact that this is a free resource for the public to use and I like it so I'm showing you what it's all about.
• 
  
• The website iswww.GoCheckRates.com and Leo Namiot is the loan officer that shared this amazing resource. It lets you really customize the choices for the loan information to get a quote, check rates, and apply online for a mortgage. I share more about this and the way it functions in the video.

 
 
You are going to want these tools at your disposal as you start searching and get really serious about buying. Knowing your numbers and having a sold preapproval puts you ahead of other buyers and helps you make an informed decision about your purchase. So, take advantage of these historically low rates and go find your dream house! If it happens to be in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, call us so we can help!
 
​Looking for more information on purchasing a home in Lakewood Ranch, FL? Watch this video: https://youtu.be/PnOJHIyXHAQ

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