When you get a mortgage, one of your top priorities should be shopping around for the company that has the best interest rate offer. What you'll be offered from one company to the next will vary, depending on your specific circumstances. However, you can also find the best interest rates just by studying the mortgage market. You can use the following tips to time it so that you're getting the lowest interest rate possible.
Tip #1: Study the market in terms of cycles.
When it comes to real estate, everything about property moves in cycles. The prices of real estate and the mortgage interest rate cycles are not always in sync, simply because they are not 100% dependant on one another, but the concept is the same - what goes up must come down. The opposite is true as well. If interest rates are sky-high right now, it is only a matter of time before the federal rate is cut to decrease foreclosures and entire people to buy homes. If interest rates are really low right now, it is only a matter of time before that bar is set a bit higher so that banks can make more money.
Study the cycles in the past ten years. You should see a regular up and down wave and by using that graph, you can figure out where in the cycle you are currently. Try to time your real estate purchase so that you are buying when the interest rates are still very low.
Tip #2: Pay attention to politics.
Whenever there is a new political leader, he or she makes promises regarding money and interest rates. While some never follow through on these promises, others do. If you want to time the market so that you get the bet mortgage rate possible, be aware of these interest rate proposals and when the election will be held. If they're proposing to cut the rate (or do things that will make it naturally lower), you might want to hold off on your purchase until after they re elected. This is always a gamble, but it might be one worth taking.
Tip #3: Make market work for you no matter what.
One of the great things about the real estate mortgage market is that you can make it work for you, even if rates are high right now. If you can't wait to make a purchase, go with the higher interest rate, but choose a balloon mortgage option or choose an option that has you paying out over the course of a long, long time. That way, you'll pay as little as possible right now but when the rates are lower, you can refinance.
Refinancing isn't cheap, so you don't want to do it often. In fact, it is a good idea to wait until interest rates go very low and then refinance just once during the life on your loan. Try to lock in that low, fixed interest rate when you can, making sure that the option to refinance is available to your when you first sign the agreement for the mortgage.
Tip #4: Work with a mortgage professional.
A third party can help you figure out everything having to do with mortgages. Although this is an added expense when you're applying for a mortgage, by working with a mortgage professional, you really can find the best options for you. A mortgage professional, after all, is dealing with interest rates and other issues every single day. Find someone who is good at his or her job and you'll be able to find the best rate for you at the best time for you.
Remember, even though it is important to do your homework and watch the mortgage market, the very best way to get a good rate on your mortgage is to be an excellent mortgage candidate. That starts with making sure that you have a clean credit history. Pay off all of your past debts and make sure that your credit history is free from all errors. In addition, take some time to figure out your debt to income ratio. If that is too high, you won't be approved for a loan no matter how good your credit score may be.
Basically, a mortgage lender offers you a lower rate if he or she can be more certain that you'll repay your debt. Yes, the mortgage market has something to do with it, but by following the tips above and making sure that your credit history and income is on par, you can be sure to get a great interest rate.
GROW, of course, is an acronym for:
Goal
Reality
Options
Way forward (or Will or Wrap up)
The model is straightforward: identify the client's goal (G), find out where they are with it now (R), look at all the options open to achieve the goal (O) and help the client commit to one or more options for action (W).
So far so good.
However, all too often the GROW model ends up actually detracting from effective coaching. This is more often true with new or training coaches who focus heavily on the proceess and not enough on what the client is really communicating.
This is NOT a fault of the coaching model itself but of the way it is applied.
So let's look at six top tips to use GROW in coaching effectively.
1 - Don't treat the GROW model as a linear checklist process
Often coaches will just go through the process as though doing an audit ending with a neat list of agreed actions!
This will almost certainly lead to failure on the part of the client to take action and frustration for the coach.
Instead, treat GROW simply as a map which structures a complex journey. Slow down and allow each stage of the journey to be fully explored. There are four key stages shown on the map but like any journey the actual voyage is full variety, surprise and diversions.
GROW may be your map but your client deserves to experience the richness of the journey.
2 - Keep in mind four key questions.
Don't think "Goal", "Reality, "Options" and "Way Forward" - think what you're really aksing your client:
What do you want?
Where are you now?
What can you do?
What will you do?
These are the four fundamental questions which drive the GROW model. If you explore these fully, you won't go far wrong.
3 - Everything hinges on the goal.
Get the goal wrong and the coaching will feel unsatisfactory for you and the client. It's a little like when you place a few jigsaw pieces in the wrong place - at first they seem to go together but the more you prgress the more the puzzle starts to look wrong!
Get it right, however, and the coaching is almost effortless. You and the client both have clarity. The jigsaw seamlessly fits together and the true picture is revealed as it should look.
So, ensure you fully explore and define the goal until you are both clear. If it means that a whole session is needed to get it right then that's ok. This will always be far more beneficial to the client in the long run than unswervingly following the process.
There's not enough room here to explore goal setting but there is a wealth of information on this subject in many books and articles.
4 - When looking at where the client is now (Reality), understand that you should not be just fact-finding but helping the client to learn.
For instance, when coaching a client on creating more spare time, a fact-finding question might be: "What time do you get up?" This question does nothing to help the client learn - it simply gives you a 'fact'.
However, a question like "What impact is not having enough time having on you?" asks the client to dig deep and think hard.
The answer to this question is not a straightforward 'fact'. It produces new ideas, insights and commitment to change.
5 - When exploring options for progress around an emotive issue, you can use reframing to help your client think more objectively.
Asking questions such as "What would your best friend advise you to do?" or, flipping it, "What would you say to a friend in your circumstances?" can produce real clarity and clients will often confess that, if they are honest with themselves, they knew what to do but found it hard to accept it. That can be a real breakthrough.
Think about using this when faced with issues such as a 'big' difficult decision, divorce, debt, bad health and so on. You are not in any way saying that the hypothetical 'friend's advice' is correct but it gets it out in the open as an option.
6 - During the final phase (Way Forward) be absolutely sure there are no final reservations or ambivalence.
Amongst the various steps for agreeing actions the most important is identifying any signs of ambivalence and addressing them. Ambivalence in the coaching session will translate to inaction in the 'real world'.
I once heard a coach say "once I got my client to say they were 100% committed..." - this is a recipe for failure. The coach's job is to find what the client will really do not artificially encourage commitment to something they won't do.
If you have followed the GROW model with the client's needs at core of it and you have consistently identified and challenged signs of incongruity as you go then the final piece, the commitment to action should be like the final piece of the jigsaw. It should fit easily into place and the real picture be completed.
Both Stephanie Larkin & Nick Bolton are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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