Mortgage Price
The interest rate or rates and upfront fees paid to the lender and mortgage broker. Some upfront charges are expressed as a percent of the loan, and some are expressed in dollars. The price includes the total of each type. On a fixed-rate mortgage (FRM), one interest rate is preset for the life of the loan. On an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM), the rate is preset for an initial period, ranging from one month to 10 years, and then can change. For ARM shoppers who are uncertain about how long they will be in their house, the price includes ARM features that affect the ARM rate after the initial rate period ends. These include the margin, maximum rate, rate adjustment period, and rate adjustment caps. The margin is the amount that is added to the index used by the ARM in determining the rate after the initial rate period ends. In a stable interest rate environment, the ARM rate will become the index plus margin, called the 'fully indexed rate.' Both the index and the margin are specified in the ARM contract. The maximum rate is the highest rate permitted by the ARM contract. It tells shoppers how high the ARM rate can go in a rising rate environment. The rate adjustment period and rate adjustment caps indicate how often the rate is changed and the maximum amount of any change. Hence, they indicate whether any rate increases at the end of the initial rate period will be abrupt or gradual.
Popular Mortgage Terms
The interest rate that is fixed for some specified number of months or years at the beginning of the life of an ARM. ...
A computer-driven process for informing the loan applicant very quickly, sometimes within a few minutes, whether the application will be approved, denied, or forwarded to an underwriter. ...
The payment of principal and interest made by the borrower. ...
A bundle of mortgage characteristics that lenders view as comprising a distinct category. The characteristics used include whether it is an FRM, ARM, or Balloon, the term, the initial ...
A very large increase in the payment on an ARM that may surprise the borrower. The term is also used to refer to a large difference between the rent being paid by a first-time home buyer ...
Same as term Bridge Loan: A short-term loan, usually from a bank, that 'bridges' the period between the closing of a home purchase and the closing of a home sale. To qualify for a bridge ...
A mortgage Web site designed to provide leads to lenders. A 'lead' is a packet of information about a consumer in the market for a loan. Lenders pay for leads, and these sites are an ...
The provision of the U.S. tax code that allows homeowners to deduct mortgage interest payments from income before computing taxes. Points and origination fees are also deductible, but not ...
Same as term housing expense. The sum of the monthly mortgage payment, hazard insurance, property taxes, and homeowner association fees. Housing expense is sometimes referred to as PITI, ...

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