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
Trying to find the best deal on a mortgage. It isn't easy to do right, as a summary of the major steps involved will demonstrate. Step 1: Decide if you are a potential shopper. Step 2: ...
The amount the borrower owes at maturity. ...
Interest from the day of closing to the first day of the following month. To simplify the task of loan administration, the accounting for all home loans begins as if the loan was closed ...
The form that lists the settlement charges the borrower must pay at closing, which the lender is obliged to provide the borrower within three business days of receiving the loan application. ...
A mortgage that does not meet the purchase requirements of the two federal agencies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, because it is too large or for other reasons, such as poor credit or ...
The interest rate adjusted for intra-year compounding. Because interest on a mortgage is calculated monthly, a 6% mortgage actually has a rate of .5% per month. If there were no principal ...
A clause in the note that allows the lender to demand repayment of the balance in full. A demand clause is even better (for the lender) than an acceleration clause. An acceleration clause ...
The policy of a second mortgage lender toward allowing a borrower to refinance the first mortgage while leaving the second in place. ...
The period used to calculate the monthly mortgage payment. The term is usually but not always the same as the maturity, which is the period over which the loan balance must be paid in ...

Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.