Thursday, January 8, 2009

Choosing The Right Home Mortgage Loan

By John Bear

When you are about to purchase a home, it wouldn't be surprising to get a little puzzled at all kinds of words lenders just throw at us. Terms like balloon mortgages, adjustable rate mortgages and fixed rate have succeeded in making our lives more complicated. Actually, those are the common types of home loans so as to select the best one, we will have to define each one of them.

You will want a fixed rate loan when you are planning to buy a home and stay in it until you pay it off. With this type, you will be given an interest rate that is fixed and will not change for the life of the loan. Now, if interest rates go higher, yours will remain the same however, when interest rates go lower, you are to pay a higher rate.

The second type is the adjustable rate mortgage or the ARM. This loan's interest rate basically goes up and down with the market so if the interest rate is low, so will yours; and if high, your home mortgage rate will, too. One disadvantage of this type is that the interest rate on a home mortgage loan affects the payments so you will never know what your monthly mortgage payments will be so this type won't be right for everyone.

To make good use of an ARM loan, individuals usually plan to sell a house quickly that they purchased for investment purposes so they may take advantage of the low interest rates especially if it looks as they may go lower.

Another smart move in using an ARM is to buy a home during the time when interest rates are on the decline. You can have the ARM changed to fixed rate home mortgage loan whenever the interest rates reach the bottom.

The third type is the Balloon Home Loan. With this type, you will make monthly payments for a fixed amount of time, with a fixed interest rate. The difference is that at the end of the payment schedule, you will likely owe the unpaid balance in one lump sum. So if you use a balloon mortgage, you will find that the interest rates are much lower than either a fixed rate mortgage or an ARM.

The obvious disadvantage to this type of loan is the huge payment due at the end, but if you are planning to hold the house for a short period of time, then this might be the right loan for you.

It is essential to know and understand the different types of home loans so as to be more prepared when the time comes for you to decide which home mortgage loan would be more beneficial to you and your family. - 15224