August 3, 2008
Tips On Finding The Right Fixed Rate Mortgage
By James Redder
The monthly repayments for 30 year or 15 year fixed mortgage are just one important consideration for many people who are looking to buy a home. Many of us are buying homes later in life these days so it is not unreasonable to have the house paid off early. Although before signing any documents, there are many things to consider. One important point is to ensure that the interest rate doesn’t change during the life of the loan.
It seems that some lenders are happy to offer deals that appear too good to be true and they usually are. The interest rate should remain the same for fixed rate mortgages until the loan is repaid. This is of great benefit for anyone that does not like surprises. Both my wife and I decided to research fixed rate mortgages when we started looking at homes for sale.
It was always our intention to clear our mortgage debt as early as we could but we didn’t want to over extend ourselves at the same time. This meant we had to consider 30 year fixed rate mortgage plans as well as those of 15 years. The problem was that we weren’t very happy about having a mortgage close to when we both retired so it was our hope a 15 year fixed mortgage rate would still be available to us. There was a lot of pressure to have the house paid off as soon as possible.
Taking everything into account we finally went for the easier 30 year mortgage plan instead. There were many things that lead us into making this choice. It was easier reaching this conclusion when I learnt my wife was expecting a baby. As she intended to raise our child at home we couldn’t rely on her financial income to the monthly expenditure. The problem we could see was the increased financial commitment on a monthly basis if we had opted for the 15 year fixed mortgage rate. We just decided we would probably get into trouble if we took this route. Despite the trepidation of having a longer term loan, it did reduce the repayments considerably.
If we have spare cash throughout the year then we can use it to reduce the capital sum. If you make a handful of extra payments throughout a twelve month period you can knock years off of your loan. It may be easier said than done, but this approach does pay off eventually. Although we would have much preferred a loan with a 15 year fixed mortgage rate we had to take our needs and abilities into consideration. Anyway, everything worked out fine despite our hesitancy.
Topics: Financial |
Comments
« Disputing Negative Information On Your Credit Report | Home | How important is critical illness coverage? »