I always like having Troy Bird on AskTheContractors.com to talk about mortgage rates, where we’re going in this market, and what is happening now with Mortgage Loans trends?

It’s hard to make sense of Mortgage rates. I asked Troy Bird, Mortgage Banker with Guild Mortgage in Sacramento about where mortgage rates are now, and are they going to remain steady. Troy says, “We’ve seen a nice dip at the end of the year into the New Year. We’ll probably see them going up this year but we’ve seen a little bit of a window where we’ve had the rates drop”.

Mortgage applications rose by 13.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis over the week ending January 11, 2019, according to data from The Mortgage Bankers Association weekly mortgage loans application survey.

“I think a little bit of that is the clients out there, they’re smart. They’re going to their lender and they’re getting pre-qualified, so they’re looking at what they’re going to be doing in the springtime. Also, with the dip in rates, there’s little bit of that refinance action as well,” said Troy Bird.

Mortgage experts like Troy Bird say put yourself in the best position by getting pre-qualified. “You have a stronger arm going into negotiations when you’re buying a home. That is the way to do it. Talk to your lender first. Clean up your credit. Figure out your down payment. Look at what you need to do on your road map to home ownership so when you make that offer on that property you’re on top of the pile.”

As a contractor I always appreciate it when the homeowner says, ‘we’re qualified. We’re going to refinance our home’. But, before you refinance we need to know how much we need to borrow. Maybe it’s for that new kitchen remodel. Conversely, it could be a bathroom remodel. It could be for a roof or a room addition. Whatever it is, Mortgage Banker Troy Bird with G