As almost anyone who has ever shopped for a home loan will tell you, even a 1% difference in rates can seriously impact the amount of interest you’ll pay over the life of the loan. It may seem odd, but that single percentage point may not add very much to your monthly payment, but over the 30-year term of your mortgage, it really begins to add up. Shopping for the best Florida mortgage rates, then, only makes sense as you find the right loan to finance your biggest investment. Where can you find the lowest mortgage rates Florida has to offer, though? This quick guide can help. 

The Lowest Rates As of August 2023

Rates only seem to continue to go up these days, but there’s likely a break on the horizon. Many analysts believe the U.S. Federal Reserve’s rate will drop at the end of the year, and that may help to lower mortgage rates all around. At the moment, the best Florida mortgage rates run 7.59% for a 30-year fixed mortgage and 6.77% for a 15-year fixed mortgage. 

How to Find the Lowest Rates Any Time of the Year

The key to finding the best Florida mortgage rates, no matter when you’re looking, is to understand the strategies and tools you have at your disposal. Keep in mind that the lowest mortgage rates Florida has to offer don’t actually start with a look at the current rates banks offer, as we listed above. Instead, understanding the factors that influence rates both for banks and from banks to customers is a key step in bolstering your chances of finding the right rate to meet your needs. 

It Begins With You

If you’re shopping for the perfect rate, the single best thing you can do initially is look at your own finances. Both your credit score and your debt-to-income ratio play a role in the interest rate the bank is willing to issue. 

Your credit score plays a pretty significant role. If you have a higher credit score, you can expect to get the bank’s best available rates. Luckily, you can check your credit score on a fairly regular basis. Whether you use a credit service like Credit Karma to keep an eye on your score regularly or you simply pull your own credit report from one of the three major credit bureaus, you’ll not only be able to see your score but also the report itself to check for any potential errors that could impact what banks see as you apply for your mortgage. 

Your debt-to-income ratio also plays a factor in obtaining a mortgage with the lowest rates. If you’re unfamiliar with the terminology, your debt-to-income ratio is an expression that helps lenders understand the ratio of what you owe as compared to what you make. You can find your own debt-to-income ratio by dividing your monthly debt payments by your monthly income. The result is a percentage. 

Mortgage lenders have a maximum debt-to-income ratio that borrowers have to meet before they can qualify for a mortgage, and those limits vary a bit based on the type of mortgage involved and the bank’s overall policies. Typically the lower the debt-to-income ratio, the better your interest rate will be. 

Begin Doing Some Research

Once you’ve taken a more careful look at your own finances – and made any repairs necessary to help improve your chances at a solid interest rate – it’s a good idea to begin researching the most current interest rates. Remember that interest rates are a bit of a roller coaster sometimes. They increase and decrease with a number of different factors. 

For example, if inflation is expected to increase in the United States, the U.S. Federal Reserve will often set short-term interest rates higher to help control inflation. Those higher interest rates typically lead to higher mortgage rates. Other factors influence what you’ll end up paying for a mortgage rate as well. Strong economic growth tends to influence interest rates as does a lower unemployment rate. Even the housing supply itself can influence the rate you’ll eventually pay. 

The key here is to use as many tools as you can to take a closer look at those rates and compare them. Sites like Zillow and LendingTree all give you the ability to compare mortgage rates from many different lenders in one space. 

It may also help to understand the different kinds of mortgage options available to you. Fixed-rate mortgages tend to come with slightly higher interest rates because you’ll pay a single rate over the life of the mortgage term, which is usually about 30 years. Adjustable-rate mortgages, sometimes called ARMs, have a rate that begins to adjust in the first five years of the loan along with market conditions. If interest rates increase, you’ll experience an increase in your monthly payments. If they decrease, you’ll experience that too. 

Talk to a Few Lenders

If you see a rate that seems like a good fit, talk to a few different lenders. Remember that the rate you see advertised may not be the rate you get because every person’s rate is different based on the lender’s evaluation of the individual’s credit score and debt-to-income ratio. If you have a few different offers, feel free to try to negotiate with lenders. Often a lender with a rate that seems a bit too high may be willing to come down on that to keep you as a customer. 

When you’ve found a lender who works for you, lock in the rate immediately. Interest rates change on a daily basis, and keeping yours low will depend on completing the mortgage application to make it happen. 

Buying the Home of Your Dreams with the Lowest Mortgage Rates Florida Has to Offer

Shopping for the right mortgage can be frustrating, but connecting with the home of your dreams is easier than ever. At Synergy Homes, we offer quality, custom-builds that meet your needs in every possible way. In the world of custom home building, every project is a unique journey that begins with a vision and culminates in the realization of a dream, and we can help you get there. Give us a call today to explore one of our models or to chat with us about making your dreams of the perfect home a reality.

 

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