VA Rates were at their best on Monday at 6.12% and only got worse from there. This was not a good week to lock in your VA loan. The markets continues to fluctuate and the bond market acted accordingly. We topped out the week and 6.50% but recovered slightly on Friday afternoon. We ended the week at 6.25%, about ¼ above our recommended lock. We continue to recommend a lock at 6.00%, this is a great rate to be holding for the next several years.

There continues to be uncertainty as to what the economy is going to do. In the short term I suspect it will get slightly worse, so we will continue to see fluctuations in the bond market.  If you’re looking to buy in the next couple months, I strongly suggest you get pre-qualified so you’re ready to lock at a moment notice. I think we will see 6.00% again next week.

Ask for a Good Faith Estimate (GFE)
If you inquire about a loan with us or any other lender, ask for a good faith estimate. This document can be easily prepared and it will show all fees, and commissions associated with the loan. This will allow you to easily compare the fees for different companies. However, it will be difficult to compare rates unless you received all the GFE’s on the same day at the same time. (note: you should not give out your Social Security Number when shopping. Each time you give it out, someone will check your credit file and this could impact your credit score.)

Loan Origination Fee
Ask or review the GFE to see what the loan officer is charging you for originating your loan. This is the compensation paid for the 30 days of work usually required to process the loan package. It is acceptable to pay 1% of the loan amount but no more!

Application FEE
Don’t pay It, this is a Junk Fee. If a lender/broker tells you there is an application fee they are just wanting to make money on you before getting started. This is a bad sign that you may pay additional junk fees later on. A lender/broker should be willing to accept your loan application and process your loan without the application fee. They are compensated for all their work from the loan origination fee when the loan closes.

Rate Shopping
Ask the lender/broker if they can rate shop for you. If you contact a bank, credit union or even some direct lenders, they will only have one VA estimate to offer you. You get one choice which is not much of a choice at all. But if you contact a mortgage broker such a va-loans.com, we have access to 75 lenders nationwide allowing us to look for the best rate and the lowest fees. We will look for the best option and provide you an estimate (GFE) that will contain all the fees and interest rate associated with the loan so there are no surprises at closing.