Posted by QuickReadAbout.com Staff in There are many things to consider when thinking about a home mortgage, key among them the interest rate. This rate will add thousands of dollars to the principal amount of the loan, and it is conceivable that over the course of a 20 or 30-year home mortgage can actually double the cost of the house. While there is no magic genie to predict what the valuation of a house will be two or three decades down the road, a smart homebuyer will consider the possibilities before making the purchase.
There are essentially two types of interest calculations on a home mortgage, fixed rate and adjustable rate. With a fixed rate mortgage, the interest rate will remain the same throughout the life of the mortgage. With an adjustable rate mortgage loan, the amount is adjusted with the prime rate, usually expressed as prime rate plus a percentage agreed to by the buyer and the lender. Since this determines the monthly payment as well, if the prime rate increases, the payment goes up. Conversely, if the prime rate falls, payments follow.
While many consider the adjustable rate home mortgage a gamble on which direction the rate will travel, others like the security of knowing their rate will remain the same and are willing to gamble that the rates will not fall.
Investigate Lender Before Signing Home Mortgage Deal
Depending on the lender being considered for a home mortgage, their reputation should be the first thing to look into. Some unscrupulous lenders in the recent past have hired their friends to conduct appraisals that have proven to be higher than what the property is actually worth. This has made it possible for them to collect thousands of extra dollars when unsuspecting buyers buy a home for a price considerably higher than the homes value.
If the homeowner begins to fall behind in payments and hope to sell the house before it goes into foreclosure, they find the appraised value has taken a nosedive and they are unable to sell for even what they paid for the house. They take a loss or tough it out often ending with their home mortgage going into foreclosure for non-payment,
While there are laws against predatory lending in many states, there remains many companies that blatantly use the practice to enable their company to assume ownership of many foreclosed properties to sell again. The only ones who lose on the foreclosed home mortgage are the unwitting homebuyers.