There are so many questions about the ever changing residential mortgage landscape, and MSNBC’s recent article provides some insight. According to this article, it is true that you can get a great deal on a 30-year, fixed-rate, conforming loan these days if you have a solid FICO score, a manageable debt burden, and proof positive of a reliable income. You have to go back to around 1961 to find a time when 30-year mortgages had rates this low.

They suggest that rates are probably headed even lower in 2009, raising the question of whether you should borrow now or wait for a better deal. The experts are sharply divided over this one. Put it this way: If you’re a gambler, wait. If you can’t sleep at night worrying that rates will go up from here, borrow now.

Uncertainty is the only certainty, and our friend Dan Green at the Mortgage Reports knows the realities. 80% of lenders are issuing 2 or more rate sheets each day. In short, the rate you get at breakfast time may not be the same as the lunch time rate. However there are some fundamental truths to consumers according to the MSNBC article:

Now more than ever, shop around with reputable brokers!

For new home purchases, experts suggest buyers get a fixed rate loan.

If you have an ARM be patient, your monthly payment may even drop.

Check your finances before shopping for a home.

Get a pre-qualification letter before you make an offer.

Evaluate if it is the right time to refinance.

In the last few months we all have heard a lot of information about interest rates, and that they are moving up and down. The rates have been in flux and Dan Green, a local Cincinnati Mortgage Broker who writes The Mortgage Report blog, gives a great interview explaining why mortgage rates change and what it all means beyond our own house payments. This is great background information for anyone looking to buy a home.