No-Cost Mortgage
Definition of "No-Cost Mortgage"
A mortgage on which all settlement costs except per diem interest and escrows are paid by the lender and/or the home seller. A no-cost mortgage should be distinguished from a 'no-points mortgage,' which will have other settlement costs, and a 'no-cash-outlays mortgage,' on which settlement costs are added to the loan balance. Calling the latter 'no-cost' is extremely deceptive. A true no-cost mortgage is one where the interest rate is high enough to command a rebate from the lender that covers the closing costs (except for per diem interest and escrows, which borrowers always pay). In general, they make sense only for borrowers who expect to hold their mortgages for no more than five years. A borrower with a longer time horizon and who has the cash to pay settlement costs ought to avoid the no-cost option. Lenders demand a high interest rate for rebates because they assume they won't enjoy it very long. The average life of high-interest-rate loans is short. A borrower who pays the high rate for a long time gets a bad deal. It is akin to a healthy person buying life insurance from a company that mainly insures diabetics and smokers and prices its insurance accordingly. The critical number for potential borrowers is the 'break-even period' (BEP) for a no-cost loan, relative to the same loan with a lower rate on which the borrower pays the costs. Over periods shorter than the BEP, the no-cost loan has lower costs. Beyond the BEP, the no-cost loan has higher costs. One important side benefit of no-cost mortgages is that shopping for them is relatively easy. The shopper needs quotes on only one price dimension the interest rate.
Popular Mortgage Terms
A letter from a lender verifying that the price and other terms of a loan have been locked. Borrowers who lock through a mortgage broker should always demand to see the lock commitment ...
The policy of a second mortgage lender toward allowing a borrower to refinance the first mortgage while leaving the second in place. ...
Authorization by the lender for the borrower to pay taxes and insurance directly. This is in contrast to the standard procedure, where the lender adds a charge to the monthly mortgage ...
A rate lock, plus an option to reduce the rate if market interest rates decline during the lock period. ...
To define a home equity line of credit, we can also take a look at how credit cards work. Similarly to credit cards, home equity lines of credit are sources of funds that can be accessed ...
The payment of principal and interest made by the borrower. ...
The number of days for which any lock or float-down holds. The longer the period, the higher the price to the borrower. ...
On an ARM, the assumption that the value of the index to which the interest rate is tied does not change from its initial level. ...
Insurance provided the lender against loss on a mortgage in the event of borrower default. In the U.S., all FHA and VA mortgages are insured by the federal government. On other mortgages, ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.