The Accunet Mortgage and Realty Show (9-28-2025) Episode

Nobody Knows Where Mortgage Rates Are Headed (And That’s Actually Okay)

The truth is we don’t know where mortgage rates are going. Neither do the economists at Fannie Mae, the Federal Reserve, or your friend who watches a lot of financial news. And honestly, that’s perfectly fine once you make peace with it.

The Federal Reserve recently cut its one and only interest rate, and you know what happened? Mortgage rates went up. Not because anyone made a mistake or the system is broken – it’s just that mortgage rates respond to dozens of moving factors, and they don’t take orders from anyone.

That might sound flip, but it’s genuinely the most honest answer anyone can give you. Even Fannie Mae’s entire team of economists, whose job is literally to forecast this stuff, can only offer educated guesses about where rates might trend over the next year or two.

So what do you do with this uncertainty? You focus on what actually matters: does buying or refinancing make sense for your situation right now? Because waiting for the “perfect” rate is like waiting for the perfect weather to start living your life. Sometimes you just need to work with today’s conditions and move forward.

Let’s look at some real situations where people stopped worrying about rate predictions and started making smart financial moves.

The Blended Rate Revelation: Looking at Your Whole Financial Picture

A homeowner recently reached out with what seemed like a dead-end situation. They had a 5.99% mortgage rate from two years ago – one of those rates that make current borrowers weep with envy. Refinancing to a higher rate? That makes no sense, right?

But then they mentioned something else: $30,000 in credit card balances.

“You are currently borrowing that whole pile of money, mortgage and other debt at seven and a quarter percent when you weigh it according to the balances.”

Here’s the thing nobody talks about enough: your mortgage rate is only one piece of your total debt picture. When you add up the mortgage at 5.99% and credit cards at much higher rates, this homeowner was actually paying over 7% on all their borrowed money combined.

By refinancing to consolidate everything, they could lower their overall borrowing cost by almost a full percentage point. Yes, the mortgage rate went up, but their total financial picture improved significantly. That’s what matters.

The takeaway isn’t complicated: sometimes the best financial move doesn’t feel like the obvious one. Looking at your complete situation – all your debts, all your rates, all your monthly payments – reveals opportunities you might otherwise miss.

Family Financial Help: Getting Everyone on the Same Page Early

A father wanted to help his adult children buy their first home in a competitive market. His approach made sense: write a cash offer to stand out, then add the kids to the contract afterward so they could get financing.

The strategy worked, but it created some tense moments. Amending an already-accepted offer requires the seller’s agreement, and they have every right to say no.

“Had they talked to me ahead of time, I would have advised or recommended, well, everybody can be on the offer from the get go, so you’re not risking it.”

This isn’t about blame – the father’s heart was absolutely in the right place. It’s just that involving Accunet early on before making the offer would have made the whole process smoother for everyone. They could have structured it correctly from the start, with everyone on the initial offer.

Family help with home purchases is wonderful and increasingly common. The key is having those conversations with your lender during the planning stage, not after contracts are signed. It prevents stress and protects everyone’s interests.

The Credit Score Puzzle: When Good Advice Creates New Challenges

Here’s something that’s catching people off guard: being an authorized user on someone else’s credit card – long recommended as a way to help young adults build credit – now sometimes complicates mortgage applications.

In one recent case, a daughter had been an authorized user on her mother’s credit card. Great strategy for building credit history, right? But now the automated mortgage underwriting software wanted proof that this account wasn’t artificially boosting her credit score.

The attempted solution hit a snag: the credit card company had closed the account due to inactivity, making it impossible to simply remove her as an authorized user.

This isn’t anyone’s fault – financial advice evolves, and mortgage guidelines change. The solution involves working with an underwriter to show that the borrower has legitimate credit history beyond that one account.

If you’re planning to buy a home and you’re an authorized user on someone else’s credit card, mention this to your lender early. It’s not necessarily a problem, but it’s better to address it proactively than to discover it mid-process.

When Anxiety Gets in the Way of Progress

One of the stranger situations involved potential clients who provided their Social Security numbers through secure channels but wouldn’t share basic property information needed for a loan quote – things like the purchase price, closing date, and property address.

“Getting a mortgage is like going to the doctor. I can’t diagnose your illness if you don’t present your symptoms.”

This speaks to how stressful the mortgage process can feel, even when you’re working with someone your own real estate agent trusts. The property address is needed for routine things like looking up tax amounts and checking if the water bill is paid annually or quarterly – standard calculations that affect your closing costs.

If you’re feeling anxious about sharing information, that’s completely understandable. Just know that certain details are truly necessary to provide accurate numbers. A good lender will explain exactly why they need each piece of information and what they’ll use it for.

Moving Forward Without a Crystal Ball

The Milwaukee market continues to show strength – limited inventory, rising prices, and strong buyer demand. For buyers, this makes preparation crucial. For potential refinancers, opportunities exist, but they require looking at your total financial picture, not just comparing today’s rate to your current one.

Whether you’re buying, refinancing, or helping family members, the key is starting with honest conversations about your complete situation. Experienced lenders have worked through countless scenarios and can help you see solutions that aren’t immediately obvious.

And about those rate predictions? Let them go. Focus on whether the numbers work for your life right now. That’s the only forecast that actually matters for your decision.