If you're shopping for a conforming mortgage right now, let me be crystal clear -- there's a near 100% probability that your mortgage rate and/or closing costs will be higher come this Monday, January 12. 

Fannie Mae's new fee structure is about to work its way through the system.

Read the detailed post on Fannie Mae's newest loan-level pricing adjustments and you'll see -- mortgage rates may be falling in Cincinnati and elsewhere, but if applying for a new home loan gets cost-prohibitive, it just doesn't matter. 

Remember, though, these changes are for Fannie Mae-bound mortgages only.  I bring up that distinction because they are plenty of loans that don't get sold to Fannie Mae and it's not always clear what those loan types are.  Non-Fannie Mae loans include:

• "Jumbo" or "super jumbo" mortgages
• FHA mortgages and VA mortgages
• Niche-lender and portfolio loan products

And, as an exception to its rules, Fannie Mae is giving a free pass to people with 15-year terms or less.  Homeowners with a 15-year or 10-year fixed rate mortgage aren't subject to the new loan-level pricing adjustments.

The majority of rate shoppers, however, are looking longer than 15 years; they're looking at conforming-sized mortgages of the 30-year fixed rate variety. 

If that's you, stop looking and start locking. Call or when you're ready.

Dan Green is an active loan officer. Email or call 513-443-2020. Dan is on Twitter at @mortgagereports.