Due to the market crisis, many changes have been made with the lending system. Loans are no longer made without proof of income or bare minimum payments. The rules are quite different now days.

To start, buyers can now make one time, up-front fees, called points. Paying points will reduce the mortgage interest rate over the lifetime of the loan. On a value system, one point is equal to 1% of the mortgage value. A common misconception is that paying points is bad which is a big mistake according to Alan Rosenbaum, the founder of Guardhill Financial, a mortgage broker. Before the crisis when mortgage rates were high, points were in a sense useless if the borrower was considering refinancing after purchasing when the rates dropped, as they would not retain their original loans long enough to get back their upfront costs. Rosenbaum reports that, "Today the spread is worth a half point to a full point on the rate,". In essence, paying points up front can lower your interest rate over the long term, dropping payments per month, which is big deal when one considers just how loan their mortgage term is. Buying points is highly effective as long as you aren´t going to refinance or sell shortly after buying.

A second thing to consider is that of minimum down payments, should you always go with the minimum or put down more if you can afford to do so? Keith Gumbinger from HSH Associates, a mortgage research firm, remarked that past thinking was that, "If you have the capital to commit, why not? It will give you a smaller balance to pay off. But now, in light of declining home markets, not everyone would agree with that." Today you have to consider failing price values and the possibility of becoming underwater, which is why according to Gibran Nicholas, the founder of the CMPS Institute, which trains/certifies mortgage advisors, it is better to conserve cash just in case.

Last, but not least, what to do with rate locking? Many borrowers make the mistake of not locking in mortgage rates when they start to fall, as they assume that that perhaps they will go even lower. However, mortgage rates have a quicker tendency to rise then fall, meaning that after a decrease is seen, you should expect a bigger increase. Gumbinger advised that, "We almost always recommend that if you have the numbers that make your deal work, then lock it in,".