Zillow Advice: Mortgage - Am I locked into locked in Rates?

Mac - I am a California broker ...

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 07:16:00 GMT

Mac - I am a California broker only and so I can only answer about how we might handle that problem here, not sure where you are. This may be fairly typical for anywhere.

Currently if your deal is owner occupied, good credit income and assets that you are fully documenting, 5.00% is near "par" as of Thursday's rates - in fact a little given back to the broker at that rate in rebate, assuming your broker is not paying any of your costs - so 3/4 point plus the rebate and other fees he's getting amkes it a sweet deal (of course, I don't know your loan amount, if its a lower loan amount, may not be so sweet for him!). He's likely to want to maintain that if he can. You did choose to lock. For him, he has made a commitment to send that loan to that lender as well, and he will be "dinged" if he does not "deliver" the loan... too many dings and he might be limited on locking those loans with that company in the future - that's another reason why he wants to close with that company. Typically though, we can and do move loans to other lenders... some get them taken away from them when the rates drop, others benefit, next time, it might be switched. It all evens out if the broker is watching over the situations and all can be happy. The lender will charge the broker a relock fee most of the time, to just move your rate down. If you're still willing to work with that broker, then take a stand - tell him you simply will not close unless he can get you locked - at the same fees/costs - with another lender at x.xx % rate or better - the market has moved, and you don't want to leave him, but you will if you have to. The fees you may have paid already likely are small relative to many years of overpaying in interest. If you do happen to be in California, give me a call on Monday and I'll give you real numbers to compare with, so we can see if you can make this work with your current broker and with fees, etc. you've already paid - happy to help. He'll likely come around.....

Mac,Don't waste anymore time, ...

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 05:52:00 GMT

Mac,

Don't waste anymore time, just contact Nic Netherton and see what he can do for you. If your offer is not even accepted yet you have plenty of time to seek suitable, responsive alternatives.

Chris.My lender was unavailable ...

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 05:34:00 GMT

Chris.

My lender was unavailable for an entire week in the an extremely volatile market. When I contacted her for a loan the rates were in the fours, they moved up to 5.75% by the time she got back in touch with me.

The house in which I put in an offer was contingent on a 5.3% rate, and I could not afford the house at more than 5.5%. And this broker charged me .75 points to get that.

I'm a first time home buyer and my inexperience and the lack of any contact with my agent recommended broker left me hanging in the wind.

I've worked my whole life to have an 800 + credit rating. And I feel like I'm the one being worked over.

This whole process has been one of the worst experiences of my life. I've been responsible my whole life, and I feel the people I'm doing business with see me as nothing more than a paycheck.

You are free to negotiate ...

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 02:46:00 GMT

You are free to negotiate with any lender you decide. However certain fees which you already paid may not be refundable. That would include an application fee, appraisal fee, and a rate lock fee if one was charged.

You may wish to see if the lender that you are currently using can float down your rate for a small fee.

I am sure the "Myersteam" ...

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 23:47:00 GMT

I am sure the "Myersteam" would be fine if a buyer came up to him and said that the seller will lower his slaes price by 10k if he goes with this other agent who has agreed to only a 2% cut

You have a few option's;1) Ask ...

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 23:06:00 GMT

You have a few option's;

1) Ask your current lender if they have a float down policy
2) Start over and find a new lender
3) Honor your lock and stay put. If you did not like the rate you should not have locked. If rates went up and your lender reneged and expected you to take a higher rate, im sure you wouldn't take it too kindly.

You are free to do business ...

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:05:00 GMT

You are free to do business with anyone. Shop around and go with the company that offers the best rate.