Debt Consolidation
Rolling short-term debt into a home mortgage loan, either at the time of home purchase or later. The Case for Consolidation: Borrowers consolidate in order to reduce their finance costs. Usually, the interest rate on the mortgage is below that on short-term debt, and mortgage interest is also tax-deductible. Borrowers also like the convenience of making fewer payments. The Case Against Consolidation: When borrowers consolidate, they convert unsecured debt into secured debt. That is the major reason the mortgage interest rate is usually lower. Borrowers who encounter financial distress and fail to pay their unsecured debts lose their good credit but they don't lose their home. By increasing the size of the claim against their home, they increase the risk of losing it. If consolidation causes the mortgage amount to exceed the property value, borrowers may also lose their mobility. Sale of the property requires that all mortgages be repaid, which means that the seller must come up with enough cash to cover the deficiency. Borrowers in this situation may also have to pass on opportunities for profitable refinance, since it is very difficult to refinance when debt exceeds value. Consolidation that reduces the borrowers total monthly payments while eliminating their short-term debt may encourage them to build up that debt all over again. This could result in so much debt they never get out from under.
Popular Mortgage Terms
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A reduction in the mortgage payment made by a homebuyer in the early years of the loan in exchange for an upfront cash deposit provided by the buyer, the seller, or both. How Temporary ...
On an ARM, the assumption that the interest rate rises to the maximum extent permitted by the loan contract. ...
A particular combination of loan, borrower, property, and transaction characteristics that lenders use in setting prices and underwriting requirements. ...
An ARM on which the lender has the right to change the interest rate at any time, for any reason, by any amount, subject only to a requirement that the borrower be notified in advance. The ...
An option attached to a mortgage, which allows the borrower to pay only the interest for some period. A mortgage is 'interest only' if the monthly mortgage payment does not include any ...
The period over which the borrower is obliged to make payments. On most mortgages, the payment period is a month but on some it is biweekly. It is not necessarily the same as the Interest ...
Proliferation in the number of loan, borrower, property, and transaction characteristics used by lenders to set mortgage prices and underwriting requirements. Nichification is unique to ...
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