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.
The latest updates in the mortgage and real estate industries may provide a little sense of stability in an otherwise hectic news cycle. Housing and the mortgage markets have remained relative bright spots, and here’s the latest from Bankrate.
1. Mortgage rates fall and will stay low
Rates fell to another record low this week. The rest of the year looks good as well for mortgage applicants. Experts expect interest rates to remain low through the fourth quarter, and that’s great news for borrowers. Rates could tick up a little in the coming months, especially if other sectors of the economy see an acceleration in their recovery, but they’re likely to stay around 3 percent for the foreseeable future.
Read the story.
2. Refis aren’t just for your primary residence
If you own more than one property, it’s worth exploring a refinance on your secondary mortgages as well. The process might be a little more complicated, especially for real estate investors, but you could still ultimately realize significant savings thanks to the aforementioned low interest rates.
Read the story.
3. An update on the best online mortgage lenders
If you’re thinking of refinancing or buying a new home, it’s a good idea to shop around to make sure you’re getting the best mortgage rate. Bankrate has you covered with its best online mortgage lenders of 2020 list. Come for the lender info, stay to read about how they differ from traditional brick and mortar banks.
Read the story.
4. What’s the point of points?
If you have money to spend up-front, you can “buy down” the long-term interest cost of your mortgage by lowering the rate with points. It’s not the right strategy for everyone, but it may be a good option for some borrowers. Take a look to learn more about how points work, and their benefits and drawbacks.
Read the story.
5. A guide to portfolio lenders
Starting Dec. 1, many mortgages will see higher interest rates thanks to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s adverse market fee for refinancers. In fact, a large share of lenders are already pricing that extra 0.5 percent into the mortgages they’re processing now. One possible way to avoid it is by finding a portfolio lender, which will hold onto your loan for its duration.
Read the story.
Share