You really should lock in your mortgage. Rates are historically low and they have to go up…eventually. Sound familiar? It may well be one of the costliest fallacies in today’s mortgage market. It’s kind of like saying stocks have to fall because the market is already up 200%. Or home prices must drop because they’re up 80% in just a...

If you look at RateSpy’s lowest rates for the Big 6 banks you’ll generally notice three things: 1)  They refer to “discretionary rates” at the banks 2)  They are estimates 3)  They are usually the same for all six banks. Though it doesn’t seem obvious, there is method in this approach. The explanation starts with the mortgage pricing strategy used by major...

I recently came upon a puzzling rate policy from a local credit union. Its website advertises: “You do not need the stress of shopping for mortgage rates! [We], your community credit union, will now MATCH the rate you are offered!” Say what? How does “matching” a competitor’s rate help someone avoid rate shopping? You’ve got to hand it to a...