What are Mortgage Rates Like in Colorado? are They Different?
Jun 16, 2009 Mortgage
Colorado mortgage shopper may wonder, while they are shopping around for a loan, if there are different mortgage rates in the state? —? higher or lower than the rest of the nation. The basic answer is no, when you compare rates for mortgages in Colorado to elsewhere.
Denver Mortgages: More Than the Best Rate
Jun 13, 2009 Mortgage
Ask Denver mortgage loan providers what would-be borrowers want to know and the answer is simple. Those who are shopping for mortgage loans in Denver want to know what their rate would be for a Denver mortgage.
But for the average mortgage lender, the answer is hard to come up with at a moment’s notice. There are no two borrowers who are exactly alike, so n
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Adjustable Rate Mortgages
May 11, 2009 Mortgage, Personal Finance
An adjustable rate mortgage (also called ARMs) has an interest rate that fluctuates over time. Typically, the rate adjusts once every six or twelve months, though some may change more frequently.
The interest rate of an ARM is tied to an index such as the one-year US Treasury bill or LIBOR (The London Interbank Offered Rate Index). When the interest rate of the index goes up or down, so does the interest rate of the ARM.
This means that your monthly payment can rise and fall along with interest rates. Some borrowers can not handle the uncertainty of changing payments. If you are strapping yourself to make your current payment, what are you going to do if rates shot up? Many a borrower has had to sell their home because they could not afford the higher payments.
On the other hand, if interest rates were to go down your monthly payment could decrease nicely. You would be able to enjoy the benefits of a lower rate and payment without the added expense of refinancing.
Biweekly Mortgages
Feb 17, 2009 Mortgage, Personal Finance
If you own your own home and pay a mortgage, you probably receive all sorts of offers from banks who want you to take out a home equity loan, refinance your current loan, or convert your mortgage into a biweekly mortgage.
The paperwork explaining the biweekly mortgage says that it can cut between five and seven years off your mortgage and save you thousands of dollars in interest. Sounds pretty good, huh?
It works quite simply. Instead of paying your mortgage monthly, you pay half your monthly bill biweekly. By paying the bill every other week, you end up making an extra payment each year.
For example, let’s say your monthly mortgage payment is $1,400. If you make 12 monthly payments, you will have paid $16,800 at the end of the year. Read the rest of this entry »
Balloon Mortgages
Feb 15, 2009 Mortgage, Personal Finance
The mere mention of the words “balloon mortgage” is enough to make some people’s hair stand on edge. They have likely been burned by one in the past, or at least know someone who has. To most people, balloon mortgages are a dangerous risk to avoid.
I don’t know how their reputation was soured, but I suspect it was from an overreaction of a few good people who were hurt by them.
Is there any risk involved in a balloon mortgage? Of course there is. But any mortgage has a degree of risk to it if you can’t afford to make the payments. I will balloon mortgages are typically more risky than a standard mortgage, but it also has its advantages.
So how exactly does a balloon mortgage work? Let’s compare it to a standard mortgage so we can see the differences. Read the rest of this entry »
