Should I tell my new lender my current rate?

[thatblissguy]

I am refinancing my home in December. Should I tell my new lender what my current rate is before we negotiate? I have made some informal inquiries into refinancing recently. I have a sub-prime rate, and my 1-year pre-pay penalty is up at the end of December. Its very easy to beat my 10.75% interest rate (I know! But I fought for the 1yr prepay vs. 2yrs), and I really was sub-prime. Hey, I got my house and I love it! Now my credit scores/history are several orders of magnitude better even just in the last year, and I am preparing to refinance. I am asked very quickly what rate I have currently. In any negotiation, withholding this type of information would keep the balance in my favor, kind of like an auction for my rate, but 10.75% is so easily beaten with other bad rates of 8%-9%, that I don't think lenders will try hard enough. Should I not tell until I have their first offer, or will they find out anyway?

[WhatTheFrank.com]

If you can but use someone else along with your current lender or broker. Or tell them you are going to use 2 other sources to make sure you get a competitive rate. Play mental poker.