Homeownership is a huge financial responsibility you have to be prepared for. Everyone knows that buying a home can be expensive, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to save on this purchase. Considering how much your interest rate can tack on to the cost of your home, homebuyers should do what they can to get a low rate.

Here are a few things you can do to improve your chances of getting a better interest rate on your home loan.

Consider a larger down payment

Homebuyers pay a down payment when they are purchasing a home. You’ll see many homebuyers making a down payment between 3% and 20%, sometimes more. Paying a larger down payment can lower your mortgage interest rate because it will decrease the loan amount. Since the down payment will be subtracted from the loan amount, which is equal to the cost of the home plus closing costs, you won’t need to actually need to borrow the full cost of the home.

Improve your credit score

Lenders use credit scores to get a better idea of an applicant’s financial health, habits, and stability. High credit scores are much more favorable than lower scores when it comes to borrowing because a high score makes lenders believe that person is less of a risk. Since your credit score is one of the factors used to determine your mortgage interest rate, before applying for a home loan, take a look at your credit report and see if there is room for improvement.

Purchase discount points

Discount points can be purchased at close to lower a buyer’s mortgage interest rate. The cost of each discount point equals 1% of the loan’s amount and reduces the interest rate by 0.25%. So, if your loan amount is $250,000, one discount point will equal $2,500, which will get an interest rate of 5.25% reduced to 5.0%.

Although discount points can get you a lower interest rate, one thing to note when considering purchasing discount points is how long it will take to get your money back from this purchase. It is recommended to only purchase points when keeping the home for a longer period of time because you want to ensure you break even or recoup the cost of the points in savings.

Sign up for AutoPay

You have to pay your mortgage every month, so why not save some money while doing it? Lenders sometimes offer a rate discount when borrowers sign up for Auto-Pay and have their mortgage payments automatically withdrawn from their checking or savings account. In order to maintain the discount throughout the life of the loan, borrowers must remain on Auto-Pay. If removed, the rate discount will no longer be applied and their payments will increase.

Shop around

It is always recommended for homebuyers to shop around. You want to ensure you get the best deal available, and if you only check out one lender, you can’t be sure that another lender could have offered you something sweeter. What some buyers don’t know is that they can ask one lender to match another lender’s offer. If you have quotes from multiple lenders, but there is one you prefer, you can bargain with them and ask them to give you the lower rate that another lender has offered. They won’t want to lose your business, so chances are you’ll get that rate.

Ask for a lower rate

Every lender has certain rates that customers can receive for their mortgage. When you apply for a mortgage, you may not get the lowest rate the lender offers, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t. Your lender can be flexible with your mortgage interest rate, but you won’t find out unless you ask.