Current Minnesota Mortgage and Refinance Rates

There are quite a few different factors involved in determining mortgage rates and, unfortunately, not all of them are within your control as a borrower. However, there are some things you can do to make sure you receive the best mortgage rate possible, including:

1. Improving your credit score: In general, the higher your credit score, the lower the interest rate you’ll receive. With that in mind, making an effort to boost your score before you apply for a loan can lead to savings.
2. Lowering your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio: Your DTI ratio measures your total monthly income versus all of your recurring monthly debts. It helps lenders predict how well you’ll be able to keep up with your mortgage payments. You can improve your ratio in one of two ways: by increasing your income or by paying down your debts.
3. Buying a single-family home: As a rule of thumb, single-family homebuyers receive lower mortgage rates than those who buy manufactured homes, multifamily homes, vacation homes or investment properties.
4. Investing in mortgage points: Buying mortgage points typically allows you to reduce your rate by up to 0.25 percentage points. In this case, you’re shrinking your total interest charges by agreeing to pay an additional fee upfront.
5. Shopping around for a home loan: Since interest rates are individually determined, getting loan estimates from multiple lenders can help lower your rate. LendingTree data shows that shopping around can save you thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.

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→Minnesota conventional loans: If you have a decent credit score, you may want to consider applying for a conventional loan. These loans are typically thought of as the most desirable mortgages, because they meet the minimum qualifying requirements set by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

→Minnesota FHA loans: For their part, FHA requirements are often slightly more forgiving than the requirements for conventional loans. If you have a minimum 580 credit score, you only need to make a 3.5% down payment to qualify. That said, your score can be as low as 500, provided you can make a 10% down payment.

→Minnesota VA loans: Eligible military borrowers in Minnesota will likely want to shop for VA loans. As a rule, these loans don’t require a down payment or monthly mortgage insurance. However, individual lenders may set their own eligibility criteria.

→Minnesota streamline refinances: Those hoping to refinance an existing FHA or VA can do so through a streamlined application process. Both the FHA streamline refinance and VA interest rate reduction refinance loan (IRRRL) programs give eligible homeowners the opportunity to refinance their mortgages while meeting fewer requirements and completing less paperwork (however, you will need to refi to the same loan type you began with).

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