Best thing to do when you live in South Jersey is go to http://www.sjrates.com and compare mortgage rates in minutes at real banks and credit unions found only in south jersey.

Best thing to do is shop around first.

Note - if you must put down a point - then there's a break even for doing so - which is somewhere around 7 years I think - so consider if paying points makes sense for you.

Thank you, Matthew and DP2, I really appreciate your quick responses and info. I was worried that there might be something shady going on but I do understand the points situation, so feel better.

I really appreciate it!

Hi George,

I don't have an exact answer for you but rates have been around 5%. One way that the bank may be lowering the rate is by charging points to buy down the rate. A point is 1% of your loan amount. By paying extra points now you can lower your rate to even less than 5%. I had a client purchase a home last month with a 4.675% rate. Ask your broker why the rate is 5% but it could mean that you paying points.

Best wishes,

Matt

Although there are several reasons for why your broker might have been able to get that low rate (eg his relationships with specific lenders, new lending programs, etc), the actual reason why is probably less of your concern. Just know that some lenders are willing to refinance at lower rates than they'd be willing to lend for new financing (which could be another reason why).

Besides, whether you're able to lock in 5.0% or 5.18% . . . both rates are considerably lower than 6%.