Mortgage quotes can be deceptive. When shopping for a mortgage you may receive different rates from different lenders.

Rates change every day, sometimes during the day. The interest rate you qualify for depends on your credit score, the type of loan you want, loan to property value, and other factors. The best mortgage professionals always discuss needs and financial situation before quoting rates.

When obtaining quotes from a mortgage broker get them to compare programs using a calculator or spread sheet, primarily one where you can plug in how many months you plan on staying in the property before refinance or selling, where you can see the programs side-by-side, you will be able to determine the higher rate with less closing costs will sometimes benefit you more. This is especially true if you plan on moving in a few years or refinancing soon. Moreover in this case it would be better for you to go with a Hybrid program where the rate is fixed for a certain period then adjusts after that period of time.

The rate quotes will vary based on the amount of time that you will need the loan locked for. For example if you call for mortgage rates most will give you a rate that is only sufficient for 30 days which you must have your loan closed and/or funded by that date. You may need a longer lock in period for several reasons such as a purchase which may not close for a longer period of time or market conditions may prohibit you from closing in 30 days, all of which may affect your rate.

The best thing to do if you simply want a rate quote is to provide the lender as much information as possible and have a good understanding of your credit history, be sure you understand that without a lock in agreement that is all you have is a quote.

Understanding that a rate quote is nothing more than a snapshot of a particular programs interest rate is critical for a customer to understand. Many economic factors determine whether interest rates go up or down and lenders will update their rates daily or even multiple times per day. The decision to lock a loan should ultimately be the consumers however your mortgage broker can be extremely valuable in deciding if you should lock now or wait based on industry forcasts.

In most instances, the exact interest rate can not be determined in the first or second contact with the broker. Be sure to ask about any other programs avaliiable as well, often borrowers focus too much on rate and not which program is in their long-term financial goals.

Remember your rate is not guaranteed until your broker locks your loan. Your mortgage broker will be able to let you konw once the loan is locked and your rate is guaranteed.

Online mortgage quotes are immensely time saving in comparison to getting the quotes through other sources.

Many borrowers call lenders or search the internet for a rate quote when they are in the market for a mortgage. A borrower must understand however that, until they are approved by an underwriter for their loan and the loan is locked by the lender, the rate is never guaranteed.

Many borrowers become upset at loan officers who tell them that they cannot quote a guaranteed rate in the early going. The fact is that such a loan officer may be more honest and better to deal with than one who leads a borrower to beleive they are guaranteed to get a certain rate from the outset.

One thing to avoid are rates quoted in newspaper advertisements. Rates change daily and the rate that you see advertised may not be what the actual rate is.

Although I am frequently asked by borrowers "what will my interest rate be" when I am pre qualifying a loan I never will quote a rate. I will respond by saying one of the following:

1) Rate will be determined by the lender after they have pre qualified the loan by reviewing your credit and application.

2) Rates change daily. Since it takes at least 24 hours to get a completed pre qualification from the lender I could not possibly know what tomorrow's rates will be.

Always remember your rate can vary until locked.