That is a good rate. Heck for a 15 it's about the same payment as my current 30, so why not. So I tried to sign up for an account being that I honorably served for 4 years and my Father is a Veteran of the Korean War. They said 'NO', because we are not 'in' or 'retired' or a Civilian with DOD access, etc, etc.... I'm still in shock! So I asked him, just out of curiosity, what about the Vets that died in the line of duty could their spouses join, and he said no because they were no longer serving. Nice answer! :rolleyes: I wish I could've pulled him through the phone. :mad:

They is going to go a lot lower....4.5% maybe even lower than that...

i'm at 5 7/8 right now 30yr fixed. gonna have to be 4's before i consider paying up to refi.

just checked it; at 3.75 i could go to a 15yr mortgage and keep the same payment.

too bad that won't happen.

But we may see the mid 4's before all is said and done.

I like the variable rate mortgages. They are usually the lowest rate at the time of signing. I did this nearly 5 years ago. Rates have come down since and I'm way ahead. I actually have 6 year term amort over 25yrs at 0.85 below prime. Today's pirme rate is 3.5 which makes my rate 2.65%. I'm good 'til March 2010 with the variable then I'll have to refi. My bank said yesterday that most Canadian banks have/are pulling their "below prime" mortgages. Not surprising. It is said the Canadian Fed will likely drop another 0.5 in January. Once the rates appear to be climbing again, I'll lock it in to some longer term rate at that time.

Other than blabbing about the rate I have, my point was that the variable rate is usually the lowest rate which saves you $$. If rates fluctuate a little, even if they go up and your variable meets or exceeds the longer term rates by 0.25-0.5, you're still ahead by the amount you've knocked off your principal at the beginning. Variables are a bit of a gamble, but I've always liked them.

It took a while but we finally closed on refinancing yesterday. 5% 30 year fixed no points and fees were reasonable. Went through a mortgage broker.

Several weeks ago we refi'd our 5.75% 20 year fixed to 5%. $700 fee, we save over $100 per month. Total no-brainer.

do i get it right that a longer time means a higher rate in the US?????

Yes and no.

Usually 15 year is the lowest, then 30, then 40.


10 year loans are rare and usually charge a higher rate than 15 or 30.

weird, over here the duration of the loan has no impact on the rate
the rate is mostly based on the bank, and the % you borrow vs the value of the house you buy

I take that back. We signed documents last week to close the deal...but then on Monday (1/26) the lender came back with additional conditions on the loan!


At the last minute they wanted to see proof that the homeowners insurance was paid for the year AND they wanted several of the documents resigned. The rate lock expired on 1/28. In Maryland there is a 3 day right of recision which means the deal wouldn't officially close until after the rate lock expired.

Soooo...in order to extend the rate lock they wanted $1000 cash + $300 "redraw fee." I think its a bunch of cr*p. Rates had gone up so they were looking for an excuse to kick back the loan and get more money.

I don't know, but I certainly wasn't going to come up with another $1300 to close the deal. The broker of course was not pleased and begged me to pay the money. I'm not buying a house, I'm just doing this to take advantage of a better rate. The broker told me that rates are going up and will not come back down, that I need to take this deal. Actually no, I don't. So the deal collapsed. I didn't lose too much, just the appraisal fee and a couple hundred to the settlement attorney.

So I'll watch the market and see if rates come back down under 5%. I am patient, I can wait.

That sucks, but it doesn't surprise me. I've heard from two separate sources this week that rates have gone up only because mortgage companies are trying to slow down the refi business because they can't handle it all at the moment. Seems they lost so many folks in the last year that there's not enough of them to handle the uptick in business. If that's true, then rates should come back down in a while.

So does this mean that my buying a house right now sucks because of the re-fis?

Depends. Are you buying because of home prices or interest rates?

Neither... buying because I have the money and want to own a home. SmileWavy

Then that's all the reason you need. Buy it and worry about refinancing when rates become too low to ignore.

With home prices at their current level + low interest rate....this is a great time for first time home buyer who can qualify for a loan. And you may even be able to get a first time home buyer credit if the Senate vote the way the new President want it to.

Cool... special credit... i likey... :cool: