Illinois Mortgage Rates and Options for Home Loans
Illinois is a large Midwestern state on the southwest border of Lake Michigan. Its largest, most populous city, Chicago—also known as the Windy City—is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country.  

Illinois ranks among the top ten states with the highest median income levels, the highest property values, and the highest property taxes. For these reasons, borrowers seeking to purchase or refinance a home must perform additional research to make sure that they are obtaining the very best loan options and IL mortgage rates available in the market today.

VA Mortgage Loans for Illinois Homebuyers
Chicago has Marines, Air Force, Army, and several other branches of the US armed forces. Many of its residents are active or retired service men and women who could qualify for loan programs offered through the VA.  

These programs allow 100 percent financing for first time homeowners, which means they can save their down payment money for other uses. VA loans do not require private mortgage insurance, as the loans are fully insured by the federal government in the event of borrower default.  For this reason, conventional lenders, such as those found here on lendingtree.com, make qualifying for VA loans a quick and efficient process.  Interest rates for these loans are at market rate or below, meaning that in IL, mortgage interest rates for veterans are highly competitive. 

Illinois Mortgage Rates for FHA Insured Loans
Residents who are not military veterans and who are looking for conventional conforming loans may qualify for a loan insured by the FHA.  This allows the borrower to use a relatively low down payment for loans that do not exceed the FHA's limits. Throughout the state of Chicago, the FHA loan limit for loans backed by Fannie and Freddie Mac is $417,000.  To qualify for an FHA loan, borrowers must meet minimum credit score and income level requirements set by the lender. They may then benefit from the competitive current Illinois mortgage interest rates. 

IL Mortgage Interest Rates and Deductions
Illinois offers the Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC), which increases the federal government income tax deduction by the amount of interest paid each year on a homeowner's mortgage loan. Holders of the MCC are allowed to use a percentage of their annual mortgage interest as a direct federal tax credit, resulting in a dollar for dollar reduction of their annual federal income tax liability.

The MCC program helps homeowners keep more of their hard-earned cash, and assists in the prevention of defaults and foreclosures. With help from the program, borrowers can more easily meet the income requirements of many conventional lenders.