{"id":97,"date":"2026-10-14T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.findequityloanswithrhonda.com\/blog\/?p=97"},"modified":"2026-10-14T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T11:00:00","slug":"homebuyers-can-shape-their-mortgage-rate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.findequityloanswithrhonda.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/14\/homebuyers-can-shape-their-mortgage-rate\/","title":{"rendered":"Homebuyers Can Shape Their Mortgage Rate"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"video-zmyer\">\n<div class=\"video-frame-zmyer\">\n        <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/www.roomvu.com\/agent\/embed\/rhonda-wayne-smith\/homebuyers-control-mortgage-remotion-videos-4fa1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><br \/>\n        <\/iframe>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"video-description-zmyer\">\n<p>One of the most empowering things about getting a mortgage is that you\u2019re not locked into a one-size-fits-all rate. A recent analysis of 1.35 million US purchase loans (Early-Q1 2023 through Late-Q4 2025) reveals just how much control borrowers have\u2014even within the same month, the middle 80% of applicants found themselves in a 93-basis-point range. That\u2019s a swing worth about $28.4K in home price, assuming a $2K monthly budget.<\/p>\n<p>From my experience helping clients across Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Florida, I\u2019ve seen firsthand how credit score is a game-changer. Hitting key thresholds\u2014especially moving from the high 600s to 700 or 720\u2014can open doors to better pricing. And while many focus on reaching 20% down, the real rate improvement there is minor (just 0.7 basis points); the bigger win comes from avoiding mortgage insurance costs.<\/p>\n<p>What truly stands out, though, is the value of comparison shopping. Among retail lenders, a top-tier lender can beat an average one by 19 basis points, which translates to roughly $5.8K in savings. With access to a network of over 150 lender partners, I\u2019m passionate about helping you navigate these options strategically\u2014because the right fit isn\u2019t just about rate, but about matching your financial goals and maximizing your buying power.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the most empowering things about getting a mortgage is that you\u2019re not locked into a one-size-fits-all rate. A recent analysis of 1.35 million US purchase loans (Early-Q1 2023 through Late-Q4 2025) reveals just how much control borrowers have\u2014even within the same month, the middle 80% of applicants found themselves in a 93-basis-point range. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":98,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-posts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.findequityloanswithrhonda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.findequityloanswithrhonda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.findequityloanswithrhonda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.findequityloanswithrhonda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.findequityloanswithrhonda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.findequityloanswithrhonda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99,"href":"https:\/\/www.findequityloanswithrhonda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97\/revisions\/99"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.findequityloanswithrhonda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.findequityloanswithrhonda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.findequityloanswithrhonda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.findequityloanswithrhonda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}