Friday, December 19, 2008

Despite all our concerns, things turned out well

By Rem

For many couples, whether first time buyers or not, the prime consideration when looking at a fixed rate mortgage is the monthly installmet cost. Purchasing a home later in life means that many individuals need to have the mortgage settled earlier. However, there are many factors to consider before signing any papers.

One essential point is to ensure that the rate of interest doesn't change during the life of the mortgage. If you are offered a deal that appears to be too good to be true than it in all likelihood is. Loans arranged for a long term fixed rate mortgage keep the same interest rate throughout the entire life of the mortgage agreement. There are no hidden surprises which is great for many people that want a dependable monthly mortgage payment. When my wife and I were looking at homes for sale we decided to look into the assorted loans available with a fixed rate mortgage. Although it was essential for us to pay off our loan as soon as we could, we didn't need high, unrealistic monthly payments which we would have a problem maintaining.

When my wife and I were looking at homes for sale we decided to look into the assorted loans available with a fixed rate mortgage. Our aim was to pay of the mortgage as soon as we could without getting into fiscal trouble because of high monthly payments.

Considering an even longer term mortgage was one alternative if we could not afford the monthly repayments on a fifteen year plan. No-one likes the idea of having a mortgage when they are close to retiring, and we were no other, so it was still our hope that a 15 year fixed mortgage rate would still be an option.

We felt there was a lot of insistence to have the house paid off as soon as possible and for the most part we agreed with this. Discovering my wife was pregnant was the clincher, although this wasn't the only reason we reached this decision. Because my wife preferred to be at home for our child, her financial income would be unsure and unreliable. Also, loans for a fifteen year fixed mortgage rate required a higher monthly payment. For us it just wasn't practicable as we would just be in over our heads and probably be worrying about money every month.

As such the thirty year fixed mortgage rate brought the monthly installments down quite a bit. During the year, if we have some spare cash, we can make additional payments which helps to lower the sum of money owed. By making just a few of these extra installments each year we learned that year's could be taken off the mortgage term. Although this isn't easy to achieve, in the long run it is well worth it. Under other circumstances, we would have preferred to have taken out a mortgage with a fifteen year fixed mortgage rate but we had to consider our other commitments as well. Despite all our concerns, things turned out well for us ultimately and we don't regret our decision. - 16035

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