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
An agreement by the lender not to exercise the legal right to foreclose in exchange for an agreement by the borrower to a payment plan that will cure the borrowers delinquency. ...
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 ...
A lenders requirements regarding how information about income and assets must be provided by the applicant and how it will be used by the lender. The following categories have evolved in ...
Also called variable or flexible rate mortgage, an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) is a mortgage where the interest rate is not constant, but changes over time by the mortgage lender. ...
The sum of all interest payments to date or over the life of the loan. This is not a good measure of the cost of credit to the borrower because it does not include upfront cash payments and ...
Fees collected by a loan officer from a borrower that are lower than the target fees specified by the lender or mortgage broker who employs the loan officer. An underage is the opposite ...
The interest rate used to calculate the mortgage payment. The interest rate and the payment rate are often the same, but they need not be. They must be the same if the payment is fully ...
A letter from a lender verifying that the price and other terms of a loan have been locked. Borrowers who lock through a mortgage broker should always demand to see the lock commitment ...
The amount the borrower promises to repay, as set forth in the loan contract. The loan amount may exceed the original amount requested by the borrower if he or she elects to include ...
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