I just ran a 50% LTV scenario through Zillow Mortgage Rates and got a 3.19% offer on a 30 (with $5 [five dollars] in lender fees).
These offers are generally for 30-day locks.
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There is no law that says you have to use the same bank/mortgage company. 
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My bank does in house mortgage rate drop without formal closing. Just sign a one page document and pay $1500.
Refinanced in Oct. To lock it in though the credit union charged .25 bps extra. Still 25bps to 50bps better than adertised rates of big banks. Any good banks with no closing costs anyone knows or credit union? They still come out at about 4k even for no closing costs mortgages.
That seems high. Ours did the same for $295, although the agreement was two pages.
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“No closing costs” is like “$0 DAS.” Neither means that costs are waived, they’re just collected from you differently.
I got the deal of a lifetime from Third Federal Savings & Loan, but that doesn’t mean you will.
In fact, of all of the purchase and refi transactions I’ve done, I’ve never gotten the best deal at the same place twice.
That’s why I love Zillow Mortgage Rates so much… you can get multiple offers for your specific scenario without handing over your contact info.
Cheaper than a full refi where you have to pay bunch of fees that will be more than $1500
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I just refinanced 34 months into my 30-year mortgage. Went from 4.125% to 3.375%, essentially zero drive-off after lender credits. Could have been 3.25% with no lender credit, but it seemed worthwhile to save sooner rather than later. Went with the same mortgage broker as my original broker; super easy process.
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During early 2015 it was briefly below 3% for 15yr fixed and that’s the lowest I’ve ever seen, I think I saw 2.75% back then.
This has been very close to that.
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Are there fiduciaries in the mortgage field similar to what they have for stocks; someone who is not paid by commission, therefore has the clients best interest at heart to help them make the most informed decision?
I’d like to explore my options as well for refinancing.
I know you pay for it in the rate. Was looking for zero DAS. Will try Zillow. I like not putting personal info.
Anyone else has reccomendations for other brokers or banks?
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Credit union
Thank you. Do you know if credit unions (or banks for that matter) negotiate terms like dealerships do? Specifically about “DAS”
My broker offers zero cost refinancing. Major banks hit you with all kinds of fees and higher rates.
As a first time potential buyer in the US, can someone clear something up for me. When I first got the the US I used a broker to sort out my car insurance. He was very helpful and got me insurance, which was tricky as I had a UK license and a Hellcat. I continued to use him every 6 months to check the market and switch when better rates became available. In the UK I never ever used a broker for any of my financial decisions, it is just not what you do over there. Anyway, I then decided to search for insurance for myself when I got the BMW (through my broker it was going to go up quite a bit from the Hellcat) and I managed to save well over $1,000 a year for the exact same coverage. (Which is very much what it is like in the UK, brokers may save time, but are never the cheapest)
Should I use a mortgage broker, or are the best mortgage deals reserved for companies that don’t deal with brokers?
If your inputs (zip code, credit score, loan amount, LTV) are correct, I’m sure it’s not. 
Generally speaking, for conforming loans I agree with you that the big banks aren’t the first place to shop (although they’re often very competitive on jumbos, investment properties and HELOCs).
But “My broker offers zero cost financing” is like saying, “the dealer ate my last 10 lease payments.”
This isn’t an either/or question. You have to shop.
Many larger institutions have multiple origination channels, doing deals directly with consumers and through TPOs (third-party originators) like mortgage brokers.
A couple of years ago I helped a family member find a mortgage, and the deal that we got from Principal Financial through a broker was dramatically less expensive than if we had originated it with Principal Financial directly.
I checked.
You can call it what you want, but my refi’s don’t cost me anything out of pocket, coupled with a great rate.