Initial Rate Period

A payment made by the borrower over and above the scheduled mortgage payment. If the additional payment pays off the entire balance it is a prepayment in full; otherwise, it is a partial ...

A biweekly mortgage on which biweekly payments are applied to the balance every two weeks, rather than monthly, as on a conventional biweekly. ...

Fees assessed by lenders when payments are late. Late fees are usually 4% or 5% of the payment. A borrower with a 6% mortgage for 30 years who pays a 5% late charge every month raises his ...

A borrower who submits applications through two loan providers, usually mortgage brokers, without their knowledge. Home purchasers sometimes submit more than one loan application as a way ...

Equations used to derive common measures used in the mortgage market, such as monthly payment, balance, and APR. ...

A very large increase in the payment on an ARM that may surprise the borrower. The term is also used to refer to a large difference between the rent being paid by a first-time home buyer ...

A comprehensive and time-adjusted measure of loan cost to the borrower. IC on a Mortgage: IC is what economists call an 'internal rate or return.' It takes account of all payments made by ...

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 interest rate adjusted for intra-year compounding. Because interest on a mortgage is calculated monthly, a 6% mortgage actually has a rate of .5% per month. If there were no principal ...