It's always fun to open the front page of HN and see a familiar face. I went to college with this guy! Congrats on shipping Mahmoud!
Show HN: I built a dashboard to compare mortgage rates across 120 credit unions
11–20 of 132 posts
Re: Show HN: I built a dashboard to compare mortgage rates across 120 credit unions
#12My credit union gives me better rates if I'm "active", which means some number of transactions per month. Thus you really need to pick a credit union and start using them a few months before if you want the best rates. (maybe, depending on how that credit union works)
Yeah, there's a somewhat wide variance in CUs, in terms of rates, quality of service, etc. I called a few just to spot check and these public rates are supposedly about as good as they can do. From what I gather, even the large CUs (like Transportation FCU) just don't have that sophisticated of an operating model.
Re: Show HN: I built a dashboard to compare mortgage rates across 120 credit unions
#13It's always fun to open the front page of HN and see a familiar face. I went to college with this guy! Congrats on shipping Mahmoud!
Haha, my uncreative username betrays me once again. Small world! Congrats on founding to you, too!
Re: Show HN: I built a dashboard to compare mortgage rates across 120 credit unions
#14God I wish we had 30 year fixed mortgages here in Australia. Imagine getting one of those during covid when rates were below 3%. Incredible.
There are downsides.
I have a really great rate on my mortgage, but our house is super expensive and small for our family… but now we can’t afford to move.
If we moved to a new house, we would have to pay off this great mortgage and get a new one, at a much higher interest rate. Even if we found a house that cost the exact same as ours, the monthly payment would be 50% higher, because current interest rates are more than twice what we have. We are locked into our house.
Re: Show HN: I built a dashboard to compare mortgage rates across 120 credit unions
#15God I wish we had 30 year fixed mortgages here in Australia. Imagine getting one of those during covid when rates were below 3%. Incredible.
just makes the prices higher... you qualify for a house based on ratio of income to payment. so the demand is heavily influenced by the type of financing available.. Other than natural demand, Australia has a high real estate market due to the tax and a superannuation/pension distortions. Should try to fix those first. (probably impossible)
And as I pointed out in a sibling comment, it can lock you into your house if interest rates go up. We can’t afford to sell our house because the extra interest costs would increase our monthly payment by 50% even if the house cost the exact same as our current one.
Re: Show HN: I built a dashboard to compare mortgage rates across 120 credit unions
#16God I wish we had 30 year fixed mortgages here in Australia. Imagine getting one of those during covid when rates were below 3%. Incredible.
There are downsides. I have a really great rate on my mortgage, but our house is super expensive and small for our family… but now we can’t afford to move. If we moved to a new house, we would have to pay off this great mortgage and get a new one, at a much higher interest rate. Even if we found a house that cost the exact same as ours, the monthly payment would be 50% higher, because current interest rates are more…
Do 30-year mortgages make the other houses more expensive somehow? It sounds like you got a good deal and any change would be worse than the good deal you got. I'd appreciate it if I was you.
Edit: unless you mean that the downside of 30-year mortgages is you hardly get to pay off the principal in the first several years and don't build much equity maybe? That's more a "long mortgages" thing.
Re: Show HN: I built a dashboard to compare mortgage rates across 120 credit unions
#17Are those really standardized in the US?
Where I live the condition vary widely. And basically the switching costs might easily dominate the total costs if you move/sell.
I've found that taking this into account it was better to trade a few places in term of interests for better conditions.
Re: Show HN: I built a dashboard to compare mortgage rates across 120 credit unions
#18CU suggestion: Kansas City's largest, CommunityAmerica Credit Union
Re: Show HN: I built a dashboard to compare mortgage rates across 120 credit unions
#19God I wish we had 30 year fixed mortgages here in Australia. Imagine getting one of those during covid when rates were below 3%. Incredible.
There are downsides. I have a really great rate on my mortgage, but our house is super expensive and small for our family… but now we can’t afford to move. If we moved to a new house, we would have to pay off this great mortgage and get a new one, at a much higher interest rate. Even if we found a house that cost the exact same as ours, the monthly payment would be 50% higher, because current interest rates are more…
This is some drawback. "I have access to the same bad alternatives as everyone else."
Re: Show HN: I built a dashboard to compare mortgage rates across 120 credit unions
#20Are those really standardized in the US? Where I live the condition vary widely. And basically the switching costs might easily dominate the total costs if you move/sell. I've found that taking this into account it was better to trade a few places in term of interests for better conditions.
Yes, extremely, especially for confirming loans: https://singlefamily.fanniemae.com/originating-underwriting/...
Patrick McKenzie (https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=patio11) has a great deep dive on this: https://www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/mortgages-are-a-manuf...
Closing/switching costs are certainly a consideration still, but the "Truth in Lending Act" (TILA) made it easier to compare the all-in cost by providing a standardized APR number, which is what the dashboard focuses on.