There is no single mortgage rate on any given day — there is a range, and where you land in it depends on details of your own file. This page explains what sets that number, then points you to a real quote for your situation.
This is the most common frustration borrowers bring to Chet, and it deserves a straight answer rather than a form. Four reasons, in order of how much they matter.
Two people can apply on the same morning, for the same loan amount, on the same kind of house, and be offered different rates. Credit score, down payment, loan program, whether you will live in the home, and the type of property all move the price. A single posted number would be accurate for almost nobody.
Lenders reprice when the bond market moves, sometimes more than once in a session. A number typed onto a web page is out of date before most people read it. That is not a website problem; it is how the market works.
When a lender does advertise a rate, federal advertising rules require the annual percentage rate to appear alongside it with equal prominence, and require that the rate actually be available. That is why advertised rates always carry fine print — a specific credit profile, a specific down payment, sometimes points paid up front. The rate is real. It may just not be yours.
A bank quotes its own pricing because its own pricing is all it has. Chet shops multiple wholesale lenders, so “today’s rate” is whichever of them prices your particular file best that morning. Posting one number would mean ignoring the reason to work with a broker in the first place.
None of this means rates are a mystery or that you should just trust someone. It means the useful number is the one calculated for you — and getting it takes a few minutes, not a commitment.
These are the levers. Some you can change before you apply; some are fixed by the property or the purchase. Chet will tell you which is which for your situation.
Working on your credit before you apply is usually the highest-return thing on this list. See what Chet’s ScoreAdvantage review looks at — it is a soft review, so it does not affect your score.
Mortgage rates follow the bond market, which responds to inflation, employment, and what investors expect the Federal Reserve to do next. No individual lender sets them, and no lender can hold them still.
What a lender or broker can change is which program you use, how the file is structured, and which wholesale lender it goes to. That is where the difference between two quotes usually comes from — not from someone finding a better market. How a broker shops that difference →
For the market-wide picture, Freddie Mac publishes a weekly national average in its Primary Mortgage Market Survey. That is the number most rate headlines are quoting — a useful benchmark, and still not a quote for your file.
Two short paths, depending on what you are doing. Both give Chet enough to quote you properly, and neither is an application or a commitment.
If you’re buying
Tell Chet about the purchase you have in mind and what your numbers look like. He comes back with the programs that fit and what each one prices at — and, if you want it, a pre-approval you can put in front of a seller.
If you already own
Whether you are lowering a payment, dropping mortgage insurance, shortening the term or taking cash out, the right answer depends on where your current loan sits. Chet will tell you plainly if refinancing does not make sense yet.
Would rather just ask? Call or text Chet on (830) 642-1507 and tell him what you are working on. He answers his own phone.
Already holding a quote from someone else? Bring it and Chet will walk you through what is in it. Compare my mortgage offer →
Because the honest answer is a range, not a number, and the part of the range you fall into depends on your credit, your down payment, the program and the property. A number posted for everyone would be wrong for nearly everyone who read it. Give Chet a few minutes of detail and the number he gives you back is one you can actually plan around.
Advertised rates are real, but they assume a particular borrower — often a strong credit score, a sizable down payment, a primary residence, and sometimes discount points paid at closing. Federal advertising rules require the annual percentage rate to be shown alongside, which is where those assumptions usually surface. If an advertised rate looks unusually good, the fine print is the part worth reading.
Reviewing your credit to discuss options does not require a hard inquiry, and Chet’s ScoreAdvantage review is a soft review with no score impact. A formal application does involve a hard inquiry — but the major scoring models treat multiple mortgage inquiries made while you are shopping as a single event, so comparing lenders is not penalised the way people fear. More on how credit works in a mortgage →
Until it is locked, a quote reflects pricing at the moment it was produced and can change with the market. Once you are under contract or into an application, the rate can be locked for a set period while the loan is processed. Longer lock periods generally cost slightly more. Chet will tell you when locking makes sense rather than leaving it to chance.
Often, yes. Pricing can differ by purpose, and cash-out refinances in particular are usually priced differently from a straight rate-and-term refinance. Texas also has its own rules on cash-out loans secured by a homestead, which is one more reason to get the number from someone who works in this state.
Not necessarily. A lower rate can come with higher costs paid up front, which only pays off if you keep the loan long enough to break even. The useful comparison between lenders is the total loan origination charges alongside the rate, since much of the rest of a quote — title work, prepaid taxes and insurance — is not set by the lender at all. More answers in the FAQs →
Related
No cost, no obligation, and no pressure to move forward. If the numbers do not work yet, he will tell you that too.
Chet Hearn, Senior Mortgage Advisor, Coast2Coast Mortgage — NMLS #1931461. Serving Kerrville, San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country. Nothing on this page is a rate quote, a commitment to lend, or an offer of credit. Rates and program terms change and are subject to credit approval. Talk to Chet for pricing on your own situation.
NMLS Consumer Access
