Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Many couples looking to buy a home

By Rem

The monthly installments for long term fixed rate mortgages are the main thought for many couples looking to buy a home. Purchasing a home later in life means that many people want to have the mortgage settled earlier. But, before you commit yourself and sign any documentation, there are a number of points you should consider.

One serious point is to ensure that the interest rate doesn't alter during the life of the loan. It is always wise to avoid arrangements that look to too good to be true because they invariably are. Although, loans based on a long run fixed rate mortgage maintain the same sum of money of interest throughout their life. There are no hidden surprises which is great for many individuals that want a regular monthly mortgage payment.

Both my wife and I decided to research fixed rate mortgages when we started looking at homes for sale. Although it was essential for us to pay off our loan as soon as we could, we didn't want high, unrealistic monthly repayments which we would have a problem keeping.

However, after taking everything into consideration we chose a thirty year fixed mortgage rate instead. Because my wife desired to raise our child at home we couldn't be certain of her monthly financial contribution to our family spending. The problem we could see was the raised fiscal commitment with a higher monthly repayment if we had opted for the shorter fifteen year fixed rate mortgage. For us it just wasn't feasible as we would just be in over our heads and probably be worrying about money every month.

Discovering my wife was pregnant was the clincher, although this wasn't the only reason we reached this decision. Because my wife preferred to be at home for our child, her financial income would be unsure and unreliable. Also, loans for a fifteen year fixed mortgage rate required a higher monthly payment. For us it just wasn't practicable as we would just be in over our heads and probably be worrying about money every month.

Despite the fear of having a longer term loan, the thirty years fixed mortgage rate did lower the monthly repayments considerably. Fortunately, we are also able make additional payments throughout the year to make the principal shrink faster. We also found that we could lower the number of years left on the mortgage by making these odd repayments. This is well worth the effort in the long run but it does require some discipline. Although we would have much preferred the mortgage for a fifteen fixed mortgage rate we had to take our needs and fiscal capabilities into thought. But in retrospect, everything worked out fine for us ultimately. - 15224

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