Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search
Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Value Report
Today we are very excited to be joined by Yolanda Stewart, a Mortgage Loan Officer from F&M Bank with over 17 years of experience. She’s a retired military officer, and is here today to answer some of the most common questions we’ve been getting about loans and interest rates. Let’s start off with the big question we’ve been getting, what are the current interest rates?
Rates are dynamic, and always subject to change. They are also based on a buyer’s individual case. However, Yolanda currently offers rates as low as 3.25% for a 30-year fixed VA or FHA mortgage, and rates as low as 3.75% on conventional 30-year fixed loans.
Rates have held steady as of late, and have even dipped down in the last few weeks. Even people with fairly decent credit scores can take advantage of these low rates. We can get someone with a credit score of 600 or above that same 3.25% interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage.
Yolanda works with some of the top mortgage banks in the country, and it allows her to compete with anyone out there for the lowest price. She is a correspondent lender, meaning that she has met the criteria to function as an extension of the big banks, and offer rates even lower than they can.
There are many factors that affect interest rates, including things you can and can’t control. Inflation is one of those things you can’t control. If it’s high, rates will be high too. The same goes with home demand. When home demand picks up, so do interest rates.
There are, however, factors you can control. You should shop around for a rate, and don’t be afraid of doing so. When banks compete, you win. Protecting your credit and being mindful of your activity and credit card balances is also important. If you can keep them under 50% of the limit, it will keep your score low.
Although she doesn’t have a crystal ball to see into the future, Yolanda predicts that based on the most recent data and indicators, rates will hold steady at these historically low levels for the foreseeable future.
If you have any questions for us about this topic, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you!
