Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions.
Key Principles
We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens. Our editors and reporters thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers.
Editorial Independence
Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information.
You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey.
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers.
We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money.
Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service.
You’ve probably heard the news — today’s low rates mean there has never been a better time to shop for a home loan. However, it’s important to know what you’re looking for to get the right deal.
Finding the right home loan depends on several factors. You need to decide what you can afford, how long you plan to stay in the home, your financial goals and tolerance for risk.
Determine what kind of a home loan you can afford by using a mortgage calculator. Then, decide what type of home loan to apply for based on how long you want to stay in the home.
ARM or fixed-rate?
For example, if you only intend to stay in your home for the next three to five years, you may want to apply for an adjustable-rate mortgage, or ARM. Rates are often lower on ARMs than on fixed-rate mortgages.
You also may want to opt for an ARM if you plan on staying in your home for the long haul but feel confident interest rates will either stay the same or drop by the time you have to renew the loan.
However, if you feel interest rates are likely to rise or you don’t want to take any risk, a fixed-rate home loan is most likely the best choice. If you’re looking to secure more equity, a fixed-rate mortgage also may be your best bet.
Buyers should also look beyond mortgage rates when choosing a company or bank for a home loan. For example, compare closing costs, which is easier to do now thanks to the good-faith estimate, or GFE, documentation lenders are required to provide.
Share