BENGALURU: While purchasing a home, shopping for the lowest mortgage rates is an essential strategy that can save you thousands of rupees over the life of the loan. However mortgage rates are expected to grow higher throughout the year, according to money.usnews.com.

Know When You Want To Close:

The length of your lock period will always depend on your mortgage rate, so discuss your target close date with each lender and ask what they charge for different loan-lock periods. Always make sure you tell the lender when you expect the closing to be because you want to lock in the interest rate for the right length of time. Many lenders charge one-eighth percent more if you lock-in the loan for 60 days. If you need a 90-day loan lock your interest rate could be as much as one-third percent higher.

Never Shop Using Annual Percentage Rate (APR):

There are lots of ways to shop for a mortgage but in comparison, shopping by Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is among the worst of them. It's a government-mandated figure meant to show the "true cost" of financing a home over a period of 30 years. However, "true cost" is really equal to your loan size plus the interest paid over 30 years; assuming if you are getting a 30-yearfixed-rate mortgage plus closing costs required for the loan.

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