Is now the time to lock in your mortgage?
 

Was talking to a banker the other night and he says mortgage interest rates are going to start going up.

Anyone thinking of locking in their mortgage at current rates? I am paying 5.5% right now so if I lock in now and have the penalty blended in I will still end up with a lower interest rate than what I am currently paying.

Or do you think rates will remain stable enough that a person can afford to wait 6 months if it would mean not paying any penalty?

No part time bank managers on GFY? :winkwink:

Nah, don't invest in the US it's only going to get worse in the long run. Are whole country is based on credit and fake money. We will have to rebuild from the ground up before we will have any worth. Unless you can pay for the full price of the house don't bother.

We recently re-negotiated ours - locked in @ 4.09% (fixed rate) for 4 yrs. Prior to that we were at 5.75% fixed.

We had no penalty since our previous mortgage term was due for re-negotiation anyways. The timing was just right.

I'd say in six months you might see rates started to inch up again. I'd think of paying the penalty and re-negotiate sooner than later.

you are too late. you should've refinanced when interest rates where in the 4%'s
they are already climbing back up now

Lock in because inflation/interest rates are gonna SHOOT UP once all the deficit spending programs catch up to the global economy. It's gonna be a rough ride for all cuz of oil's ricing price.

Were all bankers.... all this free advice we hand out... we be ballin' :thumbsup

They've already gone back up some already...at least for 30 yr fixed they were at just under 5% sometime recently and now appears to be closing in on 5.5%.

We refinanced a few months ago at 4.75% locked in for 30 years

I'm just talking about renewing my current mortgage early, not taking on more debt.

It is due in about March of next year I think, so I guess it will probably be worth it to renew early and pay the penalty rather than wait based on what you guys are saying. I think I should be able to get about 4.55 at BMO right now for 5 years, going by the specials they have on right now, which is almost a full percentage point under what I am paying now.

I checked back in March and I think the penalty was about $1800 or so at that time.

Locked in for 30 years? Wow, I didn't even know you could lock in a mortgage for that long. Or do you just mean amortized over that period?

The fed will have to increase rates soon to try to stop inflation.

Just got off the phone with some folks at BMO and they said I should be able to get something a little better than 4.55 for 5 years. Just have to call them tomorrow morning.

It's amazing how much better service I get calling them direct rather than going through the local branch.

in 5 years interest rates will be at 8%.. :2 cents:

I was once told that you should save two times in the penalty in the first year, or its not worth it.

It's a 30 year fixed mortgage. It used to be the standard in the US.

Now all you hear about is these creative loans like ARMs, Interest Only, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixed_rate_mortgage

"Fixed rate mortgages are the most classic form of loan for home and product purchasing in the United States. The most common terms are 15-year and 30-year mortgages, but shorter terms are available, and 40-year and 50-year mortgages are now available (common in areas with high priced housing, where even a 30-year term leaves the mortgage amount out of reach of the average family)."

Rates were down to 4.5%. They have gone up lately to a little above 5%. I think the govt will do whatever it can to keep rates LOW to encourage buying.