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Financing a Home Archive
The 15-year mortgage offers you a chance to save a lot of money over the life of the loan. This is because the amortization is half that of the 30-year loan, which means that the total interest paid on the 15-year note, as compared to a 30-year note, is significantly ...
They go up and down with interest rates, based on several esoteric money market indices that cause the cost of funds for lenders to vary. The most popular indices include Treasury Securities (T-Bills), Cost of Funds (COFI), Certificates of Deposit (CDs), and the Libor, which is the London inter-bank offering ...
Because adjustable rate mortgages, or ARMs, fluctuate with the market, they offer less stability than fixed-rate loans. If an ARM is adjusted upward, monthly payments will increase, and for a lot of people that can be too big a risk to take. On the other hand, should rates drop dramatically, ...
Long-term, fixed-rate mortgages are preferred by most homebuyers because they offer security and stability. The interest rate does not fluctuate over the life of the loan, so the total amount of principal and interest always remains the same. The monthly payment can change, however, if local property taxes, which are ...
It depends who you negotiate with. Some lenders are willing to haggle on both the loan rate and the number of points, but this is not typical among more established lenders. ...
It is an agreement between a renter and a landlord in which the renter signs a lease with an option to purchase the property. The option only binds the seller; the tenant has a choice to make a purchase or not. ...
Also known as a purchase money mortgage, it is when the seller agrees to "lend" money to the buyer to purchase and close on the seller's home. Usually sellers do this when money is tight, interest rates are high or when a buyer has difficulty qualifying for a conventional loan ...
It is a short-term bank loan of the equity in the home you are selling. You may take out a bridge loan, or interim financing, to help with a knotty situation: closing on the home you are buying before you close on the property you are selling. This loan basically ...
A reverse mortgage is an increasingly popular option for older Americans to convert home equity into cash. Money can then be used to cover home repairs, everyday living expenses, and medical bills. ...
Also called an all-inclusive mortgage, it is where a new home loan is placed in a subordinate or secondary position to the original mortgage and the new loan includes the unpaid balance of the first. ...
If you borrow at or below the conventional loan limit for non-government mortgages, you have what is known as a "conforming" loan. If the amount surpasses the loan limit that is set by both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -now $333,700 for a single-family home - you would then have ...
Also called GEMs, these fixed-rate mortgages have monthly payments that increase in increments of 3 percent or more to reduce the principal loan amount. They are often written by the lender at a below market interest rate and have shorter terms. ...
It is a mortgage in which the entire unpaid principal becomes due and payable on a given date, five, ten, or any number of years in the future. The borrower must pay up, refinance, or lose the property. ...
These loans do not meet the borrower credit requirements of "A" or "A-" category conforming loans, so if they are your only option for obtaining a home, then go for it. ...
No. With a shared appreciation mortgage, or SAM, a borrower receives a below-market interest rate in return for the lender receiving a share, usually 30 to 50 percent, in the future appreciation of the property upon its sale. ...
