The education part has to start right away, especially with new buyers who might not know anything else about the mortgage process except what the current interest rates are.
“I would say most new buyers who come to me are very rate sensitive,” Shelton said. “But within the conversation that we’re having, that conversation turns to what’s important right now. Obviously, everybody focuses on the rate like it’s the deciding factor, when, in reality, if you tell me you’re comfortable paying $2,500 a month, and the house that you want you can get for $2,500 a month, why is the rate stopping you?”
Lock, or don’t lock?
Another conversation that becomes a big part of the transaction is locking the rate, especially when mortgage rates are bouncing around as much as they have been over the last couple of months. Shelton said that’s something she deals with regularly.
“This is actually a very common situation that we’re dealing with, even at the beginning of the year, when rates were a lot lower than they are right now,” she said. “We don’t have a magical crystal ball to look ahead to tomorrow or next week or in three months from now. If we did, we would have a very different strategy.
“When I am having conversations with my clients, we try to shift the conversation away from interest rates and more toward payment. Your bank account isn’t paying an interest rate; it’s paying a mortgage payment. So we want to make sure that you’re comfortable with that payment.”