Posted by janCA on 4/30/09 1:33pm
Msg #286844

What is the lowest interest rate....

on a residence anyone has seen lately and who was the lender? Also, do any of you realtors and/or appraisers know just how accurate zillow.com actually is? Have you ever compared an actual appraisal with the estimated value from zillow? TY

Reply by Shoshana Roller on 4/30/09 1:42pm
Msg #286845

Historically, Zillow has never been very accurate. Evan bonafide appraisers can vary in their estimates. The lowest rates I know of are from Provident. Rates vary greatly depending on a bunch of factors. An A-Paper borrower could get into the low 4's. He might have to pay something to get that rate. This is in Az by the way. not sure if this would be valid in CA or other states. Costs can also vary. We get hits here in Phx, because it's still considered a declining market. There could also be hits for primary residence vs. investment property, amt of loan, amt of DP, etc.

Reply by janCA on 4/30/09 2:00pm
Msg #286852

Thanks Shoshana, I will check Provident. Right now our FA through Ameriprise is quoting 4.875% with 1 point. This is for a primary residence.

Reply by Deborah Lewellen on 4/30/09 2:22pm
Msg #286857

SUNTRUST 4.25%

http://www.suntrustmortgage.com/checkrates.asp
you best check here

Reply by Deborah Lewellen on 4/30/09 2:24pm
Msg #286858

Re: SUNTRUST 4.25%

one more thing, closing costs with them are about $3000, pretty darn good if you ask me.

Reply by SReis on 4/30/09 2:55pm
Msg #286866

Quicken - under 4% but....

not sure what/if people paid for points and/or closing costs to get rates under 4%.

Reply by Deborah Lewellen on 4/30/09 3:01pm
Msg #286867

Re: Quicken - under 4% but....

just did a quicken this morning. I think their closing costs are a little steep. Running about $5000

Reply by Glenn Strickler on 4/30/09 4:15pm
Msg #286894

Re: Quicken - under 4% but....

Sometimes paying the points up front to buy down the interest rates makes sense from a tax return point of view for some borrowers.

Pay me now or pay me later .... depends which works better for you. Only your accountant knows for sure.

Reply by MW/VA on 4/30/09 3:25pm
Msg #286875

Lowest I've seen was 4.375. As well all know, it's never just about the rate. Most getting below 5% are paying points.

Reply by Shoshana Roller on 4/30/09 3:36pm
Msg #286883

If the situation is right I can go below 5 without points very easily. It requires an acceptable DTI and a minimum 720 credit score for a sfr, primary residence, among other requirements. It has to be conventional with at least 20% down/equity. It cannot be a jumbo, FHA or VA.

Reply by janCA on 4/30/09 4:44pm
Msg #286902

Thanks Everyone!

I have gotten two preapproval letters and one was from Quicken. These rates change every 15 minutes from what I understand. No jumbo here. It will be conventional.

Reply by MikeC/NY on 4/30/09 5:22pm
Msg #286911

Zillow

I have no clear idea where Zillow gets their data, but they're usually off by quite a bit. They must build in a fudge factor....

When I'm wearing my Realtor hat and trying to determine a selling price, I will run comps from our Multiple Listing Service. I'm then sometimes told "well, we checked on Zillow, and we think your numbers are wrong." Umm, no, they're not... they're real and verifiable. Here's what actually sold, and what price it sold at; here's what didn't sell; here's what your competition is asking. Forget Zilllow - this is the local real estate market today....

I don't do appraisals so I can't speak to that, but I know they have generally been coming in even lower (although that seems to be easing a bit in this area). They used to look back 6 months at sales data, now they only look back 2 or 3 months.