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
One of many interest rate indexes used to determine interest rate adjustments on an adjustable rate mortgage. ...
A mortgage on which the interest rate is adjustable based on an interest rate index, and the monthly payment adjusts based on a wage and salary index. Dual index mortgages are not written ...
A reverse mortgage program administered by FHA. ...
The period until the last payment is due. The maturity is usually but not always the same as the period used to calculate the mortgage payment. ...
A derogatory term for lender fees that are expressed in dollars rather than as a percent of the loan amount. ...
Same as term Qualification: The process of determining whether a prospective borrower has the ability to repay a loan. ...
A particular combination of loan, borrower, property, and transaction characteristics that lenders use in setting prices and underwriting requirements. ...
The amount of interest, expressed in dollars, computed by multiplying the loan balance at the end of the preceding period times the annual interest rate divided by the interest accrual ...
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 ...
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