A fixed rate mortgage is one of the most common types of home loan in the USA. It’s very easy to understand and set
up and helps people know exactly what type of commitment they are making financially.
When applying for a mortgage, the lender you have chosen will take many factors into account. These factors not only
influence what type of loans you can qualify for but also what your monthly payments will be and how many years you
will take to pay the loan off completely.
Mortgage approvals hit new low as rates rise: Bank of
England figures spell more housing gloom. Mortgage rates. The number of
mortgages granted to home buyers fell further last month as prohibitive rates
and demands for large deposits put off borrowers.
Info on mortgage rates - Mortgage Basics (FAQ)
Financing the American Dream
Buying a home is the biggest financial investment most of us will ever make. As
with any large project or goal, it requires dealing with a variety of complex
issues. The best approach is to divide the process into manageable tasks. The
following deals with the first steps of gathering your records, determining what
you can afford, and understanding mortgage options. read Info
On Rates
Long Island Mortgage: Business across
Long Island feeling mortgage crisis squeeze.
'People aren't spending money in Long Island like they used to before the
subprime mortgage crisis'
Mortgage Asset prices and their liabilities
The case for tackling asset prices—and the difficulties of pulling it off
Illustration by Dettmer Otto
Federal Housing Administration
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's letter to Senator Schumer
The letter sent by Ben Bernanke,
Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, to New York Senator Charles Schumer
Even in the midst of a housing recession, one segment of the
mortgage market has been booming: reverse
mortgages, which provide a line of
credit or monthly payments to seniors 62 or older, using an existing home as
collateral. Reverse mortgages rose more than 9.5% on a dollar basis
in the second half of 2006 compared with the first six months of the year, and
the number of loans was up 19%, the Mortgage Bankers Association says.
Bad
Loans If you thought that it could not get any worse, think again
The market may appear to be stabilising, but many real estate brokers believe
there is a plethora of bad loans yet to emerge. Read: Real
Estate Brokers Bad Loans
Money Mortgage save special: cutting through the complexity
Are we heading for a crash? If we stretch ourselves now, will we reap
rewards later? And do first-time buyers stand a chance? The world of home
finance can be complex and confusing. Stephen Pritchard has straight answers to
the big questions
finance yahoo money mortgage save.
Mortgage market stirs fears of lenders, investors, discover the Yahoo
calculator
Bi-weekly Mortgage Calculator
explained : Calculate savings, amortization table for biweekly mortgages
Bad Credit Mortgage Refinancing
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Garbage mortgage Bonds and Bonfires, market
analysis
Private Mortgage insurance
These loans actually involve two mortgages.
In an 80-10-10 configuration, the home buyers puts 10 percent of the home's
value down in cash, gets a primary ...
Subprime danger
"Only three countries in the world have a serious subprime problem - the
U.S., Britain...and Spain.
Prime time Mortgage Mess: Now It's Prime Time
Shares of American Home Mortgage fell Monday after it said it had to write down
higher-quality residential loans
subprime mortgage foreclosures in your neighborhood
Do you see foreclosures in your own neighborhood? How do you think
troubles in the subprime mortgage market will play out in your community and
the economy at large?
Lack of Escrow Accounts Hurts Subprime
Borrowers
Simple.ology--The
Simple Way to Achieve Personal and Business Success is Finally Available as a
Book
Building credit in a Stock Market Turmoil
A
buying opportunity or warning of debt crisis to come?
Investors are being urged to keep their nerve amid a turbulent stock market,
with optimists seeing the slide in the FTSE 100 in the last couple of weeks as
nothing more than an overdue "correction" and an opportunity to buy
shares .
sub-prime mortgages A record number of
homeowners entered foreclosure at the end of last year and more are making late
mortgage payments, especially those with high-risk, sub-prime and
government-financed loans, according to a quarterly survey released Tuesday by
the Mortgage Bankers Association.
How Do Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) Work?
found at quickenloans.com
Jan 19, 2007
In past decades, many people have been trained to think that a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is the only way to go when it comes to getting a
mortgage. They look negatively on adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) because they fear the adjustable part. But there are advantages to having an ARM and times where a long-term fixed-rate mortgage doesn't really make as much
sense.
Lower Rates and Payments
An ARM, or adjustable rate mortgage, is similar to a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in that it is also amortized over a 30-year
period. But it's usually for shorter-term situations and generally carries a lower interest rate than fixed-rate
mortgages. So if you're trying to keep your interest rate and payment low, an adjustable can be a sensible
choice. And since it's a short-term mortgage, it's useful to have a lower rate and payment if you know you're only going to be in your home for less than 10
years--especially when most American families generally move within nine years or
less.
Some adjustable rate mortgages give you even more financial flexibility if they are available with interest-only
payments. During the interest-only period, you decide if you want to pay interest plus principal or just interest
alone. The rest of your money can go elsewhere, say, toward other bills or just extra spending
money.
A Closer Look at ARMs mortgages
Many people tend to shy away from ARMs for the fact that the rate is
adjustable. However, there are a few caveats to this:
While ARMs do have an adjustable rate, the rate is fixed for six months, one,
three, five, seven, and sometimes even nine years, depending on which term you
choose. The rate doesn't begin to adjust until after the fixed-rate period.
Although the rate can adjust up, don't forget that it can also adjust down as
well.
Most people who have an adjustable rate mortgage usually refinance it when it's time for the rate to
adjust. That way, they have some control over their interest rate.
Caps and ARMs
If you have an adjustable rate mortgage and can't or don't want to refinance when it's time for the rate to
adjust, it's important to understand what happens to the rate after the fixed-rate
period.
When the rate on an ARM adjusts, there are limitations on how much it can increase or
decrease. These limitations, called "caps" include the "initial
cap", the "periodic cap", and the "lifetime cap". The initial cap is the limit on how much the rate can adjust the first time it
adjusts. The periodic cap is the limit on how much the rate can adjust after the first
adjustment. The lifetime cap is the limit on how much the rate can adjust over the life of the
loan. Different ARMs carry different caps, depending on the program.
Let's say your ARM has caps of 5/2/5. The first five is the initial cap; the second number is the periodic
cap; and the third number is the lifetime cap. If your rate is 6.5 percent, then the initial cap says the first adjustment is your rate plus or minus five
percent--so it can go as high 11.5 percent or as low as 1.5 percent (though it's pretty unlikely that rates would change that
significantly). The periodic cap says the second and subsequent adjustments are your rate (6.5 percent) plus or minus two
percent--so no higher than 8.5 percent and no lower than 4.5 percent. The lifetime cap says the rate can never go higher or lower than your rate (6.5 percent) plus or minus five percent.
There are times when you'd want to refinance and times when you don't. So why would you not refinance your ARM when it's going to
adjust? Well, as we said, rates can go down as well as up. There are some people who are not afraid of risk and are willing to gamble that their rate could go down. To be somewhat
savvy, it's wise to follow what's happening in the market to know whether short-term rates will go up or down. The Federal Reserve is usually the entity that affects short-term adjustable
rates. They meet eight times a year and decide whether to increase, decrease or maintain short-term rates as a control measure over
inflation.
Deciding whether you should get an ARM and/or whether to refinance it is really your own
decision. But if you can answer a few questions--whether or not you want a lower rate and
payment; whether or not you're only going to be in your home for less than 10
years, and whether you can stand a little risk in terms of the interest
rate--then, you'll be closer to making the right decision. Either way, you should confer with an experienced mortgage expert to be sure you're making the right
decision.
