Mortgage Price
The interest rate or rates and upfront fees paid to the lender and mortgage broker. Some upfront charges are expressed as a percent of the loan, and some are expressed in dollars. The price includes the total of each type. On a fixed-rate mortgage (FRM), one interest rate is preset for the life of the loan. On an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM), the rate is preset for an initial period, ranging from one month to 10 years, and then can change. For ARM shoppers who are uncertain about how long they will be in their house, the price includes ARM features that affect the ARM rate after the initial rate period ends. These include the margin, maximum rate, rate adjustment period, and rate adjustment caps. The margin is the amount that is added to the index used by the ARM in determining the rate after the initial rate period ends. In a stable interest rate environment, the ARM rate will become the index plus margin, called the 'fully indexed rate.' Both the index and the margin are specified in the ARM contract. The maximum rate is the highest rate permitted by the ARM contract. It tells shoppers how high the ARM rate can go in a rising rate environment. The rate adjustment period and rate adjustment caps indicate how often the rate is changed and the maximum amount of any change. Hence, they indicate whether any rate increases at the end of the initial rate period will be abrupt or gradual.
Popular Mortgage Terms
Someone authorized by the original credit card holder to use the holder's card. While authorized users are not responsible for paying any charges, including their own, they are sometimes ...
Same as term housing expense. The sum of the monthly mortgage payment, hazard insurance, property taxes, and homeowner association fees. Housing expense is sometimes referred to as PITI, ...
In connection with a home, the value of the home less the balance of outstanding mortgage loans on the home. ...
The maximum allowable ratio of loan-to- value (LTV) on any loan program. Generally, these are set by mortgage insurers or by lenders and can range up to 100%, although some programs will ...
A sale price below market value, where the difference is a gift from the sellers to the buyers. Such gifts are usually between family members. Lenders will usually allow the gift to count ...
A mortgage Web site that shows mortgage prices posted by participating lenders, in some cases hundreds of them. ...
Administering loans between the time of disbursement and the time the loan is fully paid off. Servicing includes collecting payments from the borrower, maintaining payment records, ...
The period used to calculate the monthly mortgage payment. The term is usually but not always the same as the maturity, which is the period over which the loan balance must be paid in ...
A particular computerized system for doing automated underwriting. Mortgage insurers and some large lenders have developed such systems, but the most widely used are Fannie Mae's 'Desktop ...

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