Went through the process of house hunting/buying

[CS1]

I second @elit. especially the way rates are swinging these days, even if the rates go don 1/4% on a 400,000 loan youll make back the additional appraisal fee in less than a year.

+1
They generally say with any refinancing, etc.. that if you plan to stay in your current home for at least another 3 yrs., then it's usually worth the fees. And you can roll the fees into your monthly payments, if needed... 

[rileywiles23]

I second @elit. especially the way rates are swinging these days, even if the rates go don 1/4% on a 400,000 loan youll make back the additional appraisal fee in less than a year.

I'd have to factor in the Application fee which I don't think is refundable, but I still think I'd come out ahead depending on the rate.

[Sport]

I'd have to factor in the Application fee which I don't think is refundable, but I still think I'd come out ahead depending on the rate.

How much was the application fee?

[rileywiles23]

How much was the application fee?

$500.

[rileywiles23]

How much was the application fee?

$500.

It gets credited back at closing, but if you cancel the app then you officially lose it.

[Sport]

It gets credited back at closing, but if you cancel the app then you officially lose it.

Got it. So you would lose approx $1000 if you ditched them ?

[rileywiles23]

Got it. So you would lose approx $1000 if you ditched them ?

Yes. Although I'm wondering if I somehow can claim that I can't meet one of the conditions, then they'll cancel the app.

[dealfinder85]

Wrong!
You can run applications with multiple places will only cost you the appraisal fee. Read up thread where I and others highly recommend doing it

+1
Played 2 apps against each other with float downs
Was well worth the few hundred dollars.

[rileywiles23]

Dow is starting to drop again. IINM that should start affecting rates.

[ckmk47]

The rates have been kept artificially low during Obama's presidency.  It's almost certain that they will continue to rise.

[skyguy918]

The rates have been kept artificially low during Obama's presidency.  It's almost certain that they will continue to rise.

-1 to the second half of that sentence. You're making it sound like the president controls the Fed, which is certainly not true. They may react to policy changes from the administration, but if anything, in the short term they're likely to hold or even cut rates.

[ckmk47]

Janet Yellen signaled a coming rise in rates.
IMO, they're going up within the next year.  Maybe even 6 months.

[Jkhein]

Dow is starting to drop again. IINM that should start affecting rates.

Rates dropped a little today - to lock or to wait?

[rileywiles23]

Rates dropped a little today - to lock or to wait?

What did you get ?

[coralsnake]

-1 to the second half of that sentence. You're making it sound like the president controls the Fed, which is certainly not true. They may react to policy changes from the administration, but if anything, in the short term they're likely to hold or even cut rates.

You're making it seem like the fed funds rate affects the 30 year mortgage rate.

[rileywiles23]

You're making it seem like the fed funds rate affects the 30 year mortgage rate.

There is no connection between the two ?

[coralsnake]

There is no connection between the two ?

Correct.

[skyguy918]

Janet Yellen signaled a coming rise in rates.
IMO, they're going up within the next year.  Maybe even 6 months.

She's been 'signaling' a rise for months, and it didn't happen at the September or November meetings. I would be shocked if it happened the next few meetings either, which is what I meant by short term. I agree that they may start to raise rates as early as 6 months from now, but that certainly has no bearing on someone's mortgage rate decision right now.

You're making it seem like the fed funds rate affects the 30 year mortgage rate.

Actually I did no such thing. I think maybe you mean ckmk47.

There is no connection between the two ?

Correct.

No connection is a bit strong. 30yr mortgage rates are extremely tied to the 10 year treasury note. The 10yr note is certainly affected by the fed funds rate, in the same way that just about any financial instrument is affected by changes in macro-economic conditions. The point is that a directional change in the fed funds rate does not guarantee a change to 30 year mortgage rates in the same direction.

[coralsnake]

No connection is a bit strong. 30yr mortgage rates are extremely tied to the 10 year treasury note. The 10yr note is certainly affected by the fed funds rate, in the same way that just about any financial instrument is affected by changes in macro-economic conditions. The point is that a directional change in the fed funds rate does not guarantee a change to 30 year mortgage rates in the same direction.

Fed funds rate has 0 connection to 30 year mortgage rate.

The Feds outlook has a helluva lot more to do with the direction of mortgage rates than the Fed Funds rate. But even that is indirect at best.

Quote from below article:
("Does the Federal Funds Rate Affect Mortgage Rates?
The short answer: No.")
http://library.hsh.com/articles/more-tools-resources-and-info/mortgage-basics/does-the-federal-funds-rate-affect-mortgage-rates/

Quote from below article:
("The Federal Reserve has no direct connection to U.S. mortgage rates whatsoever.")
http://themortgagereports.com/17724/how-mortgage-rates-move-when-the-federal-reserve-meets

Quote from below article:
("How can it be: If the Fed raises rates, won't mortgage rates spike and people will stop buying houses?
No. First, mortgage rates don't exactly follow the federal funds rate. They follow mortgage bond yields, and those yields loosely follow the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury.")
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/21/why-housing-doesnt-care-about-the-fed.html

[skyguy918]

Fed funds rate has 0 connection to 30 year mortgage rate.

The Feds outlook has a helluva lot more to do with the direction of mortgage rates than the Fed Funds rate. But even that is indirect at best.

Quote from below article:
("Does the Federal Funds Rate Affect Mortgage Rates?
The short answer: No.")
http://library.hsh.com/articles/more-tools-resources-and-info/mortgage-basics/does-the-federal-funds-rate-affect-mortgage-rates/

Quote from below article:
("The Federal Reserve has no direct connection to U.S. mortgage rates whatsoever.")
http://themortgagereports.com/17724/how-mortgage-rates-move-when-the-federal-reserve-meets

Quote from below article:
("How can it be: If the Fed raises rates, won't mortgage rates spike and people will stop buying houses?
No. First, mortgage rates don't exactly follow the federal funds rate. They follow mortgage bond yields, and those yields loosely follow the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury.")
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/21/why-housing-doesnt-care-about-the-fed.html

Each of your citations hedges their answer in a way that fits with what I said.

You wrote:
"Fed funds rate has 0 connection to 30 year mortgage rate."

They wrote:
"The short answer: No." [ie the long answer is more complicated, and if you click on the link you'll see they use the same term - direct connection - as the next quote]
"The Federal Reserve has no direct connection to U.S. mortgage rates whatsoever."
"First, mortgage rates don't exactly follow the federal funds rate."

They're all hedging their wording for the same reason, which is that the fed funds rate is a key macroeconomic indicator/motivator, and therefore has at least an indirect effect on all financial instruments.