We all know mortgage rates are trash these days.
We are looking to move later this year and trying to figure out lenders as we have been in the same place forever.
Does anyone have any recent experiences with either live on online lenders?
Tips on negotiating?
We plan on putting down 20+% so PMI won't be an issue. Will really just be looking at rates and fees, but have never gone through the full process before.
Don't want to go to so many places and have my credit pulled that it might affect my score.
I am guessing people will just say to go to bankrate.com and start there, but maybe someone has real life experience that could help.
Not sure if context matters, but the purchase will be in Wilmington and we have near perfect credit scores.

2/11/2025 10:33:37 AM

are you doing new construction? you can do buy down points with many builders.

2/11/2025 10:56:05 AM

I can't help with your overall question, but I know that multiple credit inquiries within a short window of time when mortgage shopping are supposed to count as a single inquiry in terms of credit score impact.

2/11/2025 12:52:41 PM

Try Truist or PNC. Avoid known criminals such as Wells Fargo and Bank of America.
Get to know your mortgage broker/construction loan manager once you find one. There's going to be construction inspections along the way from the bank. 20% complete, 40% complete, etc.
The bank will have you buy construction insurance. It protects you in case your framing gets destroyed by a natural disaster. I think it protects against sheisty contractors, but I'm not 100% sure on that.
^^ I think you end up paying more in the end to buy down interest points, but again, I can't confirm. When I purchased my first home in 2011, buying down points was an option. When I did new construction in 2018, it wasn't an option.

2/13/2025 7:43:53 AM

While we would be happy with new construction, we are most likely going to be buying a home already built. It kinda sucks in general because the new construction obviously has modern fixtures and all that kind of stuff, but they are always in these cookie cutter neighborhoods with 3 feet in between houses. And we intend on this being our 'forever home' so in general it is not going to be easy for us to settle on a house.

We bank with NC SECU and they have base rates we can easily get, but they are not that competitive.
But i think i may start with them and ask for a copy of credit report so when i talk to anyone else i can have that data and hopefully not get multiple inquiries.

2/13/2025 11:27:40 AM

That's a good route. You could always ballpark your credit score and see what they say.
What rate can I expect for a 832 credit score?
What rate can I expect for a 852 credit score?
Wow, anonymous! Great credit. you're approved up to $550k! Were you looking for a white or gray house?

^ I also bank with SECU. Although they are a great bank to work with and very communicative, they readily admit that their mortgage and auto loan interest rates aren't the lowest.

2/13/2025 1:59:17 PM

Yeah their auto rates suck ass for sure.

My wife and i both have scores over 820 so i am not concerned about approvals.
I am just dreading the shopping part, especially if it does come down to actual negotiating.

2/13/2025 2:27:13 PM

2/13/2025 3:01:58 PM

Quote :

"What rate can I expect for a 852 credit score?"

Credit score maxes out at 850.

2/13/2025 7:09:11 PM

Oops! I had it on bad authority that the top was 900.

2/13/2025 9:09:10 PM

^ I thought it was 850 until the other day one of my accounts claimed my score was on a scale out of 900. Opinions seem to vary. Google suggests that there is a credit card specific model that does go to 900. So maybe that's the discrepancy?

2/13/2025 10:34:51 PM

I thought it was 850 but didn't want to go out on a limb and seem like a dweeb

2/13/2025 11:29:31 PM

I'm fine with being a dweeb.

850 is the maximum for the classic FICO score most often referenced. I don't make any claims about other scoring systems.

2/14/2025 6:29:22 AM