Please, stop calling your mortgage broker asking for their lowest interest rate.

Why do I say that?

As a mortgage broker (or loan officer), clients call me every day and say the same thing. Give me your lowest interest rate or I’m not doing business with you.

The really dumb one’s also add that they don’t want their credit report/score pulled and that their credit score is very high.

With that attitude, you’ve basically asked me to lie to you. You’re asking me to give you an interest rate quote based on nothing.

Is that what you really mean to do? I’m guessing no.

If you want accuracy (and I think you do) then it all starts with your credit score. If you are truly seeking an honest mortgage rate quote your credit score is a major part of the lending process.

Picture it this way. Your mortgage loan is held up by 3 strong legs. One leg is your credit score, the other is your debt to income ratio and the third is your home value.

If you focus on those three areas first, and make sure they are strong — you’ll be way ahead of the mortgage game.

Your credit score and home value are pretty straight forward, so to figure your debt to income ratio you simply take your total monthly expenses and divide that number by your total monthy income.

The sweet spot percentage is 45% or less, however some lenders will go up to 50-55% depending on how strong the three legs are. A strong credit score and a high home value would strengthen your overall ability to get loan approval at a debt to income ration above 45%.

In conclusion, ask your broker or loan officer to help you establish the three legs of credit score, debt to income ratio (DTI) and home value. Be sure to visit the “What’s Your Home Worth” section to avoid the common home appraisal mistakes.