Lower Rates and GingerBread Houses

This morning rates went down to 5.125% for a 30yr fixed Conventional 80%ltv Owner Occupied $160,000 loan with a 740 score (5.354% APR). I was doing my Happy Dance when I saw this until I started contacting my watch list...

I have been contacting everyone on my Watch list who has told me - "When rates drop to below 5.50% let me know so I can refinance or buy!"

What I'm amazed at is how many people have been watching the news about the Treasury's announcement yesterday and think that the rates should be 4.50% or that they want to wait until the rates hit 4.5%.

Folks, the headline says, "WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The Treasury Department is contemplating a proposal that would cut mortgage rates for new loans for homes, according to the Wall Street Journal. "

Contemplating means they are thinking about it, mulling it over, wondering if it will work - NOT A DEFINITE DECISION! By no means can we count on this happenening.

But you can count on the rates as they are availlable.

5.125% is the lowest rate we have seen this year -yet people who want to wait for a lower rate might miss the opportunity if rates pop back up and the Treasury decides that the propsal the are contemplating just won't do the trick.

I guess I see it like the Ginger breadhouse my daughter made with my parents over Thanksgiving - they decorated this beautiful gingerbread house that came already made from Walmart -all they had to do was add the candy, frosting and other small pieces that make it fun.

But when it came down to eating the Gingerbread House -it was as hard as a rock because my parents bought one that had sat on a shelf for a while and wasn't suitable for consumption any longer. They wanted to get the best one they could but they did not buy it at the right time - or they did not pick out the best one available to them at that moment.

Mortgage rates are a lot like that Gingerbread house -if you don't take advantage of the rates while they are low and just keep waiting for a possibilty of lower rates in the future -you may have to settle for a rate that is not as edible as the one I have been trying to contact my watch list for.

You mortgage professionals are professionals for a reason - because they try to get you the best terms to save you money on your next purchase or refinance. Instead of listening to the news - listen to the person you know and can speak face to face with.

So what do you want -a rate that might possibly come or a rate that you can lock today?