A lot of variables go into this, but we try to price competitively so you don't have to shop around to get the best rates.   If a lender tells you "here is our rate, but if you find better, bring that to us and we will match it", ask yourself and the lender "why am I not getting your best pricing up front?".

Most people believe rates are tied to various treasury products, and to a point this is correct.  However mortgage rates are actually more closely tied to mortgage backed securities, traded on Wall Street.   They are much more anticipatory to what is going on in the financial markets than reactionary, as treasury securities tend to be.   This is why mortgage rates tend to move prior to the Federal Reserve making changes (which are very public by the way), in anticipation of that move, than when the short term Federal Funds rate (an overnight interest rate, by the way, not a long term rate like a mortgage), than the day of or immediately after a Fed move. 

So when the Federal Reserve makes a move on rates, it is generally already priced into mortgage rates.  So when the Fed makes that move and they "drop rates 25 basis points", don't expect mortgage rates to react heavily to this.  Rates have likely already moved down in anticipation of this move.  

That is the million dollar question.   Or at least thousands of dollar question.   

You may be trading in a lower rate but paying off substantially higher rate credit cards, second mortgages, HELOCs, car loans, or need cash for repairs or your kid's college.  

But you have a nice low rate on your current loan.  

The best option is to sit down with one of our mortgage professionals and do the math.  We look at the savings on what you pay off plus the cost of trading in a lower rate versus what you would pay to stay on the same track as you are know.   

Think about it.  If I am trading a 3.5% mortgage rate on a $200K loan but I have $40K in credit cards at 15% and a 9% rate on a $25K car loan, you likely would save hundreds a month that you can either pocket to make life better or apply to the new mortgage to quickly pay it down and get away from those other higher rate obligations. 

Well, that depends.   For certain streamline refinances, almost nothing is required.   For many rate and term (so no cash back and no paying off of debts rolled into the loan), you may avoid much of the standard documentation you provided when you purchased or last refinanced your property.  If you are taking cash out or paying off other debts thru the process, count on a more traditional loan process (income, asset, appraisal, etc..).

Traditionally, the math to refinance started with a 2 percent rate reduction.  That is nonsense.  I can show you in certain situations that honestly any rate improvement is worth refinancing.  Think about it.  If you do a refinance that truly costs you nothing (no closing costs either out of pocket or rolled into your loan) and you save any amount on your rate, is it not worth it?   But nobody is refinancing for .125% in rate.  

So, think about these items, among others:

• how long have I been in this mortgage?
• what are the total fees being charged?
• what is the lender rolling into my loan?
• how many years are left on my current loan?
• how long do I plan to be in this house or keep this property?

In our experience, if you can save 1/2% in rate without increasing your loan balance or paying out of pocket (except for updating the escrow account), it is likely worth refinancing.  If you are paying the standard transactional  fees, such as title and appraisal, look to save .625%, and if you are paying an origination fee as well as the above fees, look closer to .75%. Of note, on our price screen, we quote with the 1% origination fee as that is customary in most markets.   

In the end, every scenario is different, so the above information is really only a generic guideline.  Let us help guide you though the financial maze. 

What is better?  A $454K refinance at 6.125% bring nothing to closing or a $444K refinance at 6.25% bringing $3K to closing?   The borrower chose the first option and was wrong.  The lender rolled in an additional $6K in closing costs to get the customer .125% lower in rate to "beat" our offer.  For $6K, WYO Mortgage Advisors would have given that same client 5.875%, but he wanted to work with his "friend".  End of the day, this borrower will thousands for his mistake and not understanding what he was looking at.  True story, and to take if further, the monthly payment was higher as well!  So $6K plus a higher payment.  Not a great deal. 

The Schwartz's were probably moving in two years, rate on their home was 6.75% and they took out the mortgage 3 years prior.   Rates had fallen but not by enough for "standard thinking", plus adding anything to the balance on their loan would be detrimental.   We closed a new refinance for them with a 27 year amortization (yes, we didn't go all the way back to 30 years), dropped their rate to 6.375% for absolutely no cost.   They saved $53 a month for two years.   And if they end up not leaving, they have 6.375% versus 6.75% for the remainder of the life of their mortgage PLUS if rates fall again for them, they haven't raised their loan balance at all and can refinance again, and maybe save another $53 a month...    Most lenders would have given them a 6% rate, hit them for a ton of fees but said "our deal is better, look at the payment and rate", not caring about the fact that the $8K in closing costs would take 6 years to recoup or to break even versus a 6.375% rate.  Lots of saved money for the Schrwartz's, and they are customers for life.

D

This is advice from a pro.  I have completed thousands of mortgages for my clients, and overseen, as a manager, nearly $8 Billion in transactions.  I have seen a lot!  Here is my advice:

• If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.  Margins generated by mortgages is very slim.  Very few lenders get the interest on loans generated, and if they do, they are borrowing the money to loan to you in nearly all cases
• Don't just look at the interest rate.  Lenders by law need to disclose an Annual Percentage Rate (APR), which tells you the true cost to borrow by including the costs you would not incur to borrowr that money.  Think like this... if I borrower $10 but it costs me $1 to get it, what am I borrowing?   Actually only $9.   Or maybe I am borrowing $11 to get the value of $10 in my pocket.   Those two differences are accounted for by the APR. 
• Lenders will trick you.   They will tell you "nothing out of pocket" but add the closing costs into your loan.  Understand that a NO COST refinance is very different than simply NO MONEY OUT OF POCKET.  No cost is no fees of any kind, no origination, no title, no appraisal...   No money out of pocket means you are likely paying these and they are being added to your loan.  You will get a lower rate for this but have a higher loan balance walking out of the closing.   
• Think about your short to intermediate plan with the property.   If you plan to move in a couple years, absolutely  you should do a NO COST refinance.   Sacrifice some rate to keep your loan balance down as you will make more when you sell in a couple years due to a much lower payoff.  On a $300K loan, for example, You may only save $100 a month instead of $150 (about a .5% rate difference), but your payoff will be $3500 less in two years when you sell due to not rolling in costs.   So you lose about $50 a month ($1200 over two years) in monthly savings but pick up about $3500 more when you sell.   A WIN!

My pitch for my company... Shop local and work with a broker.  Brokers have multiple investors we can go to, where banks, mortgage companies, and credit unions likely work with only one investor.  If that investor doesn't like your loan scenario, those companies are stuck.  If a broker doesn't like what their primary investor is saying, then we can go to another investor. 

Another reason for working with a WYO Mortgage Advisors as your trusted mortgage broker.  An independent study in 2023 showed that those who work with a broker saved, over the life of a loan, over $10K in fees and interest.  We have much less overhead, no big mouths to feed above us in the management chain, and investors need us for survival, not the other way, so we get prices that are very comptitive up front. escribe the item or answer the question so that site visitors who are interested get more information. You can emphasize this text with bullets, italics or bold, and add links.

And unlike even most brokers, WMA is 100% locally owned.