Loan Program: Residential Finance Network offers hundreds of programs from numerous national and regional lenders. As a general rule, programs with shorter fixed terms offer the lowest rates, but carry the greatest risk of rate changes. No lender will have the lowest rates for every program.

Loan Amount: Interest rates on fixed rate loans up to $417,000 (called conforming conventional loans) are the same. Fixed rate loans greater than $417,000 for single family homes are called "jumbo" loans and range from 1/8% to 1/2% higher. Many adjustable rate mortgage loan programs (for 1 year, 3/1, 5/1, 7/1 and 10/1 ARMs) have the same rates for conventional or jumbo loan sizes up to much larger loan amounts (often $417,000 to $1,000,000). Many borrowers in need of jumbo loans often select one of these adjustable rate programs instead of fixed rates for this reason. For loan amounts greater than $1,500,000, most lenders add 1/8% to 1/4% to their interest rate and only offer adjustable rate mortgage plans. Multi-family properties are allowed to have higher loan amounts and still be considered conforming conventional loans.

Price of Property: This question must be answered so that the percentage of total equity can be determined. Some lenders offer better rates for borrowers with higher down payments or higher equity in their homes. Residential Finance Network offers loans from lenders requiring as little as 0% down, but if you choose a no income verification loan or if you have poor credit you might be required to have a higher down payment.

State: Many lenders offer lower rates for states where they seek to increase their loan volumes and higher rates where they do not really want to lend. Make sure that you obtain your rate quote for the state where the property is located, not where you are located.

Occupancy: The best rates available are offered to borrowers purchasing or refinancing their primary residence. Rates are the same for vacation homes as for your primary residence. Investment property rates are anywhere from 1/4% to 1/2% higher depending on the lender and the loan program.

Property Type: Interest rates are usually the same on loans for borrowers with good credit whether you are financing a single family, 2-4 family, condominium or townhouse. The only difference is that many lenders require higher down payments for some multi-family properties and certain condominiums. Co-Ops, condo hotels, mixed-use (meaning residential and commercial), and multi-family properties greater than 5 units will usually carry higher interest rates. Some loan programs for borrowers with less-than-perfect credit might also see a slightly higher rate for condominiums and multi-family properties.

Loan Purpose: The best rates are offered to borrowers purchasing a home or refinancing the existing balance on a mortgage loan. For refinances, rates are the same for owner-occupied or vacation homes if no additional cash is being withdrawn from the house. Rates are also the same when you take additional cash out if the total loan amount is less than $417,000 for single family homes. If you need a loan greater than $417,000 and you want or need to get cash out of your single family home, your rate will be approximately 1/8% higher than regular rates.

Income Documentation: The best rates are available for borrowers able to fully document their income that will be used to repay the loan. If you have excellent credit, you will not need to see that many If you are not able to fully document your income (which most often occurs when you are self-employed but can also be the case when you are a W2 employee or even when you are retired), you can still get a loan by applying for a "no income verification" loan, lwhich is also called a "no documentation" or "reduced documentation" loan. Since these loans carry higher risks for lenders, the rates for these programs are higher. By specifying that you do not want to provide income verification, you will see that the rate quotes you receive are anywhere from 1/4% to 1% higher than full income verification programs. Most of these programs require that borrowers have assets equal to 6 months of monthly mortgage payments. If you are a borrower with substantial liquid assets and excellent credit, there are extremely well-priced loan programs available that are almost the same price as full documentation jumbo loan rates.

Credit History: If you have a good credit history, you should be able to qualify for nearly every program and you may even benefit from automated underwriting and interest rate discounts. If you now have or in the past have had credit difficulties, you will probably still be able to obtain a loan but the rate will be higher and the down payment requirements may also be higher.

Pre-Payment Penalty: Many loans carry pre-payment penalties which allow lenders to offer a lower interest rate. In exchange for knowing that they will have your loan for a minimum period of time, lenders offer these loans with slightly lower rates.