Should I Pay Points For A Lower Rate?
Paying points for a lower interest rate is a trade off between paying money now versus paying money later. A point - equaling 1% of the total loan amount - is an upfront fee that reduces your monthly interest rate and total interest due over the life of a loan. Use our calculator to figure out the cost and effective saving of loan points as well as the minimum amount of time it will take to recover your loan points.
Popular Mortgage Questions
Popular Mortgage Glossary Terms
A particular computerized system for doing automated underwriting. Mortgage insurers and some large lenders have developed such systems, but the most widely used are Fannie Mae's 'Desktop ...
Interest that is earned but not paid, adding to the amount owed. For example, if the monthly interest due on a loan is $600 and the borrower pays only $500, $100 is added to the amount owed ...
An upfront cash payment required by the lender as part of the charge for the loan, expressed as a percent of the loan amount; e.g., '3 points' means a charge equal to 3% of the loan ...
The payment of principal and interest made by the borrower. ...
Programs offered by some lenders under which a borrower who is able to secure a grant or gift equal to 2% of the down payment will only have to provide a 3% down payment from their own ...
A derogatory term for lender fees that are expressed in dollars rather than as a percent of the loan amount. ...
Loan applications that are withdrawn by borrowers, because they have found a better deal or for other reasons. ...
The amount of the original loan remaining to be paid. It is equal to the loan amount less the sum of all prior payments of principal. ...
A government-owned or -affiliated lender that makes home loans directly to consumers. With minor exceptions, government in the U.S. has never loaned directly to consumers, but housing banks ...
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