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Understanding Mortgage Terms: The Financial Terms

Understanding Mortgage Terms: The Financial Terms
Betsalel Cohen
UpdatedMar 11, 2024
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    6 min read
Key Takeaways:
  • Getting a mortgage loan is a complicated process.
  • Learn about different interest rates, payment schedules and other financial terms of a mortgage loan.
  • Read about other basic mortgage terms dealing with credit and house value.

Your First Steps to Understanding & Getting a Mortgage

Editor’s Note

To help you be a more informed shopper, take the time to read a few articles about mortgage basics. This is the first article in a three part series. Read them all so that you make smart choices in your home loan!

  1. The Basic Terms: Payment Schedules, Interest Rates and Fees
  2. Credit Criteria: Credit Scores, Credit History, and Income Criteria
  3. House Value and LTV: Down-payment and Equity

Buying a house is a big investment, perhaps the single biggest purchase you will make. Very few of us can write out a check for the entire cost of a house. Fortunately, we don’t have to, because lenders offer mortgage loans.

A lender focuses on two main criteria when deciding whether you qualify for a mortgage loan:

  1. Your creditworthiness: The lender checks both your willingness to pay and your ability to pay, including:
    • Your credit score and credit history: A predictive statistic to help determine how risky it is to offer you a loan. Credit score and history not only determine if you qualify for the loan, but also affect your loans's interest rate.
    • Your income and monthly debt expenses: Evaluates your capability to make your payments.
  2. Your LTV (loan-to-value ratio): When you purchase a house, your lender looks at the size of your down-payment. If you are refinancing, it looks at how much equity you have, comparing your home's fair-market value to the size of your new loan.

Mortgage loans are complicated financial products. They involve long-term contracts, large sums of money, and confusing financial jargon. You will need to choose between different mortgage offers that include different durations, interest rates, fees and payment schedules. To get a mortgage loan at the best terms, it is crucial that educate yourself and then shop around.

Buying a Home?

Check out Bills.com Mortgage Affordability Calculator. Refinancing? Check out Bills.com Mortgage Refinance Tool.

The Basic Terms: Payment Schedules, Interest Rates and Fees

Before you start shopping for a mortgage loan, familiarize yourself with the key terms you'll encounter.

Mortgage Basics: Interest Rates

Mortgage Basics: Mortgage Interest Rates

Your interest rate is the basic financial cost of the loan. Interest rates are quoted in annual terms, for example a 30-year mortgage at 3.5%. (2013 is starting off with mortgage interest rates near their all-time low). There are two types of interest rates:

  • Fixed: Fixed interest rates are very popular when interest rates are low. With a fixed rate, you always know how much your payment will be.
  • Variable or ARM (Adjustable Mortgage Rate): An ARM interest rate is tied to an index (like a treasury bond or the LIBOR rate) with an added margin. An ARM has an initial period where the interest rate is fixed. Afterward, the rate fluctuates in constant intervals. For example a 5/1 ARM has an initial fixed period of 5 years and then the rate is adjusted every 1 year. Arms come with caps and ceilings that limit the amount the interest rate can go up (and down) in one adjustment and for the life of the loan. ARMs are more complicated than fixed-rate loans and it is often hard to measure the risks of ARMs.

Lenders are required by law to include your loan fees into your quoted interest rate and provide you with an APR (Annual Percentage Rate). Be aware that it is hard to compare the many types of loans available based only on their different APRs. Compare the costs of mortgage loans based on mortgage rates and mortgage fees over the time you are considering holding on to the loan.

Find Up-to-the-Minute Home Loan Rates

For today’s rates, see Bills.com home loan rates table. Included with the rates are contact numbers to reach lenders directly.

Mortgage Basics: Mortgage Fee

Mortgage Basics: Mortgage Fees

Mortgage Loans come with many different types of fees, including:

  1. Lender fees: Application fee, origination fee and discount fees.
  2. Third party fees: Appraisal, title search and title insurance.
  3. Escrow fees and pre-paid: Property tax and property insurance.

Make sure that you understand the different types of fees. Your lender is obligated by law to provide you with an estimate of all the fees. In the early stages of your shopping, focus on the lender fees that affect the real financial costs of your loan.

Mortgage Basics: Payment Schedule

Mortgage Basics: Mortgage Payment Schedule

Most mortgage loans have a constant payment schedule with the same sized monthly mortgage payment as long as you hold the loan. Payments on ARMs fluctuate, due to changes in interest rates. There are also special types of mortgage payments, for borrowers with unique financial situations. One example is an Interest-Only (I/O) loan, which usually has an initial, specified time where you pay only interest on your loan balance, followed by regular principal and interest payments. Other examples of loans with unusual payment schedules include balloon payment loans and negative amortization loans. Anytime you are offered a non-standard mortgage loan, make sure that you clearly understand the payment schedule and the risks involved.

Principal

The amount of money you borrow. It can also refer to the balance, or the amount of money you owe the lender at any given time.

Term

The length of your mortgage loan is set to last is sometimes referred to as the "term." Mortgage loans vary between short-term loans (4 years) to long-term (40 years). The most common purchase loan is for a 30-year term. Many refinance loans are for 15-year terms.

Monthly Payment

Your monthly payment consists of two parts, principal and interest. The principal part of the payment reduces the amount of money you owe. The interest part declines over the period of the loan, if your interest rate is fixed. Use the Bills.com mortgage payment calculator to see how the size of your monthly mortgage payment will differ, based on different loan amounts, length of the loan term, and/or interest rates.

Other Payments

Besides the principal and interest, you may have other payments to make. Mortgage Insurance is common for borrowers whose loan is more than 80% of the value of the house. Another type of payment is your property tax and property insurance payments, which are often paid into a special, escrow account along with your principal and interest payment. If you are paying them on your own, it is important to make those payments on time. For condominium owners there are Home Owners Association (HOA) fees that you must make on time or risk problems with the HOA that can jeopardize your residence.

Mortgage Basics: Understanding your Loan

Getting a mortgage loan is a lengthy process that takes time and patience. If you come across a mortgage term you don't understand, then ask! Make sure your loan officer explains to you how your loan works and if any changes can raise your payments.

Make sure you understand the basic mortgage terms covering your interest rate, payments, and fees. Keep reading, to learn about creditworthiness (credit scores and debt-to-income ratios) and loan-to-value ratios, other important mortgage basics that affect you qualifying for a loan and how much your loan will cost.

Get a Home Loan Quote Fast

When you are ready to shop for a mortgage, get a mortgage quote from a bills.com home loan and refinance partner.

The mortgage market: what's new?

Mortgage rate fluctuations should come as no surprise. If you are buying a home or refinancing your existing mortgage, it is important to stay informed about the current mortgage rates.

Mortgage rates February 21, 2024
According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year mortgage rate for the week of February 21, 2024 stands at 6.9%. This 13 basis points increase from the previous week's rate.
Additionally, Freddie Mac reports that the 15-year mortgage rate for February 21, 2024 is 6.29%, indicating a 17 basis points increase from previous week’s rates.
Note: A basis point is equal to one-hundredth of one percent (0.01%). In numerical terms, if the mortgage rate changes by 20 basis points, it means the rate has changed by 0.20%.

What does the mortgage rate mean for you?
Mortgage rates play a vital role in determining your monthly payment. Let's take a look at the avergage interest rates (APR) for February 25, 2024 based on Zillow data for borrowers with a high credit score (680-740) in the United States:

  • For a 30-year conventional loan, the interest rate is 6.88%.
  • If you opt for a 15-year conventional loan, the interest rate stands at 6.08%.
    Using the rates mentioned above, a $279,082 30-year-year mortgage would result in a monthly payment of $1,834. On the other hand, a 15-year mortgage would require a monthly payment of approximately $2,367.

Experience a smooth mortgage process: Shop around and get pre-approved today!
Shopping around for mortgages and getting pre-approved can make your home-buying or refinancing process easier. Ready to take the plunge? Check Out mortgage rates now for the best options available.

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