Understanding Your Mortgage

Types of Mortgage Loans

Fixed-Rate Loans The most common mortgage loan is the 30-year fixed-rate loan because the interest rate does not change over the life of the loan. Most homeowners prefer this type of loan since they know that their monthly mortgage payment will remain steady over the years. A 15-year fixed loan is becoming more popular because it reduces your time horizon on the loan, allowing you to decrease dramatically the amount of interest you'll pay over the life of the loan. Generally these loans will carry a higher rate of interest since the lender is giving up their opportunity to make more money in an economy where the interest rate is rising. Adjustable-Rate Loans The median length of stay in a home is only 8.2 years (1998 U.S. Census data), so if you plan on staying in the new home for a short period of time, you may want to consider alternative financing to the traditional fixed-rate loan. Adjustable-rate loans offer a lower interest rate for a set period of time. The interest rate on these loans can be adjusted annually or you can see them listed as "3-1", "5-1", "7-1" or many other variations. For example, under a "7-1" adjustable rate loan, the loan will stay fixed for the first seven years and then reset each year thereafter. This means that the loan will stay fixed for the first seven years. Then in the eighth year, the rate is adjusted based on current market conditions, which is usually based on the one-year Treasury index. Initially, the interest rates on adjustable-rate mortgages can be anywhere from one to three percentage points below the conventional fixed mortgage, and then typically adjusted annually after the fixed term expires. If you only plan to stay in the home for seven years, then this may be the perfect loan for you. You'll need to watch out if interest rates start to rise; you may find yourself paying more than the traditional 30-year fixed.