Rate Protection
Protection for a borrower against the danger that rates will rise between the time the borrower applies for a loan and the time the loan closes. Rate protection can take the form of a lock, where the rate and points are frozen at their initial levels until the loan closes, or a float-down, where the rates and points cannot rise from their initial levels but they can decline if market rates decline. In either case, the protection only runs for a specified period. If the loan is not closed within that period, the protection expires and the borrower will have to either accept the terms quoted by the lender on new loans at that time or start the shopping process anew.
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 ...

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