Mortgage & Refinancing Information

Mortgage Loans Explained In Plain English


With the many different kinds of mortgage loans out there, choosing the right one for your needs can be a difficult task. The following points will help you understand the pros and cons of the different types of mortgage loans available to you.

What are the main types of mortgage loans?

There are two main types of mortgage loans-fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages.

A fixed-rate mortgage comes with an interest rate that will never change over the 15, 20 or 30 years that the loan will last.

In contrast, the interest rate of an adjustable-rate mortgage will change. The rates are usually attached to an interest rate index-the LIBOR rate (London Inter-Bank Offer Rate) is a popular one-and your payments will go up and down if the indexes change.

If I get a fixed-rate mortgage loan, what should I keep in mind?

Fixed-rate mortgages offer stability above all. You know exactly what interest rate you will be paying. If you think that your income is not going to change much over the coming years, or if you are planning to stay in your house for a long time, then a fixed mortgage loan is a good option for you.

On the flipside, stability comes at a price. You will initially pay higher interest rates than in an adjustable-rate mortgage loan and you will need to put a higher down payment (somewhere between 10 to 20 percent of the loan) into the mortgage. If you don't have enough money to afford a high down payment, you will need to get Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI), which will increase your monthly payments.

What should I consider when getting an adjustable-rate mortgage loan?

An adjustable-rate mortgage loan initially gives you a lower interest rate than a fixed one. Many loans give you three to five years during which you pay a low fixed interest rate, and then the rate begins to fluctuate with the market. Some loans will put caps on how much your rate can change from year to year to protect you from market fluctuations. The risk with this type of loan is that interest rates might go up, but then again, interests can also go down and your payments will go down with them.

If you are not planning to be at your house for the long haul or you are planning to sell, then this loan is a better option for you.

How can I compare different mortgage loans?

Mortgage brokers are required by law to provide you with an Annual Percentage Rate (APR). This figure adds up all your expenses (property taxes, insurance, loan fees, interest payments, etc.) and expresses them as a percentage of your loan. For example, a loan might have a one percent interest rate, but when you add all the extra expenses, you will actually pay 1.5 percent. The APR is the best way to compare mortgage loans and decide which one offers you the best deal.

How will mortgage brokers decide whether I can get a mortgage loan?

Mortgage brokers are looking for indicators that tell them that you can pay the loan back. Among the things they will look at are your credit history and whether you have had stable employment for the last two years. It is usually a good idea to ask for a copy of your credit history before you go to your mortgage broker.

Mortgage brokers use a formula called 28/36 to decide if you can afford your mortgage loan payments. This means that your mortgage payments cannot be higher than 28 percent of your income and your total credit payments (for credit cards or other loans, including your mortgage) cannot be higher than 36 percent.

Joel Meadowridge is the editor for the Mortgage Broker National Directory where you will find more information about mortgage loans and a directory of mortgage brokers located in major cities across the United States.


MORE RESOURCES:

Examiner.com

Beware of mortgage refinance ripoffs
Examiner.com - 9 hours ago
by Tom Mackinnon, Dallas Personal Finance Examiner With mortgage interest rates at all-time lows (my company has 30 year fixed rates as low as 4.25% at the ...


Washington Times

Is It Time To Refinance Your Mortgage?
Forbes, NY - 22 hours ago
Falling rates and a friendly Fed mean good things for homeowners. But there's a catch. Looking to refinance your mortgage? Do it now. ...
Mortgage Rates At 37- Year Low WHIZ
Refinancing suddenly booms Honolulu Advertiser
all 30 news articles


Cardoza proposal could aid housing crisis
Stockton Record, CA - 14 hours ago
By Bruce Spence Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Atwater, has a plan to reverse the housing crisis and boost the economy: a 4 percent interest rate on fixed-rate, ...


Waco banks seeing a boom in mortgage refinance applications
Waco Tribune Herald, TX - Jan 2, 2009
By Mike Copeland With mortgage rates hitting record lows, Mary Jo Teakell is seeing a growing backlog of refinance applications. “We’re quite busy right now ...
Borrowers seeking to refinance may face challenges WTOP
all 15 news articles


Situations determine refinancing
FayObserver.com, NC - Jan 7, 2009
By Hilary Kraus It depends on your situation. How much do you still owe? How long do you expect to stay in your home? Are lower payments a priority? ...


Mortgage Refinance Loans
Kitchener, Ontario Canada, Canada - Dec 31, 2008
The City of Kitchener is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. ...


St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Mortgage Refinance Online
PWO, France - Dec 17, 2008
If you want to consolidate debt or get cash to pay for home improvements, you can apply for a mortgage refinance online that offers you a cash back option, ...
Video: Record low mortgage rates ReutersVideo
Mortgage Rate Hits 37-Year Low Wall Street Journal
all 864 news articles


Bad Credit Mortgage Refinance Loan- 3 Most Important Items to Get ...
CrunchGear, NY - Dec 23, 2008
Ultimately if you are looking to do a bad credit mortgage refinance loan you need to keep several things in mind to ensure that you don’t get taken for a ...


Question & Answer on mortgage refinancing
Boston Herald, United States - Jan 1, 2009
By Holden Lewis / Bankrate.Com With mortgage rates at historic lows, lots of homeowners are debating whether to refinance their mortgages these days. ...
Don't miss the mortgage refinance window Barre Montpelier Times Argus
Applications Show Refi Wear-Out? Housing Wire
A toast to low mortgage rates MarketWatch
all 457 news articles


Are points a good buy on refinancings right now?
WalletPop, VA - Jan 5, 2009
During the housing boom, my wife and I probably got at least a dozen solicitations a month from banks wanting us to refinance our mortgage or borrow against ...

Mortgage-Refinance - Google News

home | site map
© 2006