Looking for the best Harrisburg mortgage rates? It doesn’t matter if you are looking at modern downtown condominiums and townhouses or historic homes on the beautiful Susquehanna River; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania is a great place to live. But finding that perfect home in Harrisburg is only half the job. The other half is finding a perfect mortgage. These days, getting the home you want often depends on getting just the right Harrisburg mortgage. After all, no one can truly enjoy a new home if they are constantly worried about whether they can afford it.

Finding a Harrisburg Mortgage You Can Afford

There isn’t any situation more disappointing than finding the perfect home, negotiating just the right price, and then having to give it all up when your loan iss rejected because a mortgage broker or loan underwriter decided you couldn’t afford it. Let’s take a minute to re-strategize. Most often, we begin our home search with the actual house search.

However, in order to avoid needless frustration, we will need to add a preliminary step to our process. Before setting out on the exciting search for our little slice of paradise, we should first get a good idea of how much house we can afford.

Finding out how much of Harrisburg you can buy on your income is not the easiest task, but fortunately you’ve got help. There are online comparison tools (like the one at the top of this page) that you can use to quickly find out what price range, what interest rate, and what duration of loan you will be able to qualify for given your income and anticipated expenses. This way, you won’t be caught off guard by mortgage disappointment. When you make that offer, you’ll be able to make it with confidence.

What You Need to Know to Get the Best Harrisburg Mortgage Rates

There are several questions you need to answer in order to get the right mortgage for your new home in Harrisburg.

First, what type of loan is best for you? There are primarily two types of home loans you want to focus on; fixed rate and variable (or adjustable) rate loans. Adjustable rate loans usually offer lower payments in the first year. However, these loans adjust their rates with the prime interest rate. This means that if the prime rate goes up 2%, so does your interest rate. This can translate to payment increases of a couple hundred dollars or more. Fixed rate loans don’t vary with the market. While they can sometimes be harder to get, if you qualify for a fixed rate loan you will have the security of knowing your payments will stay the same even if the prime rate increases. If the prime rate decreases significantly, you can always investigate refinancing.

Second, what price range is the best for you? In order to determine this, you will need to get a few quotes regarding the interest rate you will most likely qualify for given your credit score, debt to income ratio, and other factors. Once you have this range you can use a payment calculator to plug in home prices, down payment amounts and monthly payment amounts for each of the interest rates in your range. You will need to make certain that the monthly payment amounts fit well within your budget and the down payment amount is something your savings can handle. Also, you’ll always need to add 1% to 2% of the purchase price of the home onto the total price. This will accommodate the fees usually associated with the home loan process. Once you’ve played with the numbers a bit, you should know your price ceiling, that is what price your new home in Harrisburg can’t be over in order for you to afford it.

Third, will purchasing discount points up front save you money? This option is one of the greater mysteries of the home loan process. Purchasing points when making a home loan means that the lender agrees to reduce the interest rate on your loan by a point percentage (usually 1/10 of 1%, or .001) for every additional $1,000 you contribute to the loan upfront. This option may make sense if you have an extra $10 or $20 thousand dollars just lying around. Otherwise, an additional .001 or.002% off of your interest rate will likely only save you tens of dollars per month.

Finding Your New Harrisburg Home

Now that you have all the info you need to shop properly, take a trip downtown, and cruise through the quiet residential areas of Harrisburg. This city has a lot to offer. Not only will you be impressed with what you’ll find, but you’ll know that you have everything you need to make Harrisburg home.

Compare Harrisburg Mortgage Rates

Enter your zip code into the tool above to start comparing free Harrisburg mortgage rates today!