I was posed with a not so unique question early on last Friday's morning.  It came from a rather astute prospective client who asked, "How do I make sure I get the best rate?"

The more I thought about it after initially answering the question, the more I wondered what was really the right answer?  Heck, was he looking for the cheapest deal or the best deal, they are not always one in the same?  Was he looking for trust or smoke & mirrors?   He's a quality borrower by lending standards, yet seems to have fallen into a similar box of shoppers who have made life difficult for themselves and us by shopping on fees and rate alone. 

Devil's advocate may say, "Is this trying to substantiate ridiculous fees and a higher than market rate to pad your pocket book?" 

Devil's nightmare says, "Not at all.  Sales is volume driven, word of mouth, not getting ‘rich' off of one transaction, but making coin because you do many of them.  And I believe if you do it right, there's an education/consultation factor that just may be priceless for those who chose to work with you.  That kind of stuff saves them money, even though the Good Faith Estimate isn't the cheapest they've seen and the rate quoted is the lowest they've heard"

And he's still on that fence, which might make me a less than stellar sales guy.  Which also puts me on par with most folks who tend to be less than stellar shoppers.  My job, in part, is to consult folks on what to do and when to do it, in regards to anything involving Mortgage Financing.

Fair enough...

If you are in the position to obtain financing to purchase a home and have the desire/need/want to do just that, get off that little picket fence.  It may be electric when you look forward to see it behind you.  What does that mean?

Rates will go up.  I'm pretty sure of that.   More than likely, sooner rather than later.  The historical low we've seen has got to inevitably come to an end.  The Tax Credit thing, well, it ends soon as well.  And the inventory of homes on the market at prices more appealing than Selma Hayek in white stockings, will eventually reach a happy medium and go away. It will no longer be a Buyer's Market, at least like it is right now.

To answer the young man's question of how one can get the lowest interest rate possible, it's not always by shopping around.  While that's a starting point, this isn't a flea market.  This is probably one of the most important transactions that gentlemen will undertake.    

In retrospect, I should of answered his question with a somewhat different retort.  He is looking for the best rate and talking to me at 7:56 AM on a Friday Morning.  I think he just found it.