You're thinking about buying a home and don't want to read through a thick book about mortgages. This article provides some general home loan basics to get you started. Deciding to buy a home and obtain a mortgage is a serious decision with significant responsibilities. Not only must you spend money upfront to obtain your loan, you'll be entering (or increasing) your debt. You'll also be responsible to pay a large monthly payment. Hence it is important that you choose wisely what loan to get and where to get it.
As you compare mortgages, you'll want to understand some basic terms: mortgage, rate, monthly payment, closing costs, APR, ARM, and fixed.
First, what is a mortgage? A mortgage is a loan used to either purchase a property or to pay off an existing mortgage loan. The property itself becomes the collateral. In other words, if the borrower defaults on the mortgage, then the mortgage owner has legal claim to the house and can take possession of it.
The term "rate" refers to the percentage used in calculating the amount of interest you'll pay for your loan. The interest is essentially your cost for borrowing money. If the interest rate remains the same throughout the loan term, then the mortgage is considered a "fixed-rate" loan. On the other hand, if the rate can change, then the mortgage is called an adjustable rate mortgage or an ARM.
While interest is the cost of borrowing money, there are additional costs associated with the mortgage application process. These costs are called "closing costs". They include fees for checking your credit history and scores, applying for the mortgage, verifying that you qualify for a specific loan program (this is called underwriting), originating the loan, title search and insurance, and having the property's value appraised.
While the interest rate is an important number, by itself it is insufficient for comparing lenders. This is because lenders and brokers can charge different fees, making a loan from Lender A actually less expensive than from Lender B, even though it has a higher interest rate. In order to help provide a number that can be compared across lenders, the government has regulated that closing costs be added to the loan amount to determine what is known as the Annual Percentage Rate or APR.
When choosing a loan, pay special attention to the loan's total monthly payment. This amount includes what you'll pay on principal and interest, property taxes, hazard or homeowner's insurance, HOA dues, and mortgage insurance. When mortgage insurance is factored into your monthly costs, some loans with a higher interest rate might actually have a lower monthly payment. You could end up paying less overall if you pick one of those loans.
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