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
The standards imposed by lenders in determining whether a borrower can be approved for a loan. These standards are more comprehensive than qualification requirements in that they include ...
Authorization by the lender for the borrower to pay taxes and insurance directly. This is in contrast to the standard procedure, where the lender adds a charge to the monthly mortgage ...
A payment made by a lender to a mortgage broker for delivering an above-par loan. A par loan is one on which the lender charges zero points. Lenders charge points on loans carrying ...
Refinancing that omits some of the standard risk control measures and is therefore quicker and less costly. The rationale for streamlined refinancing is that, while it is an entirely new ...
The amount of interest, expressed in dollars, computed by multiplying the loan balance at the end of the preceding period times the annual interest rate divided by the interest accrual ...
Same as term Negative Points: Points paid by a lender for a loan with a rate above the rate on a zero point loan. For example, a lender might quote the following prices: 8%/0 points, ...
Requirements stipulated by the lender that the ratio of housing expense to borrower income and the ratio of housing expense plus other debt service to borrower income cannot exceed ...
An interest rate index that is used on some ARMs. ...
An upfront cash payment required by the lender as part of the charge for the loan, expressed as a percent of the loan amount; e.g., '3 points' means a charge equal to 3% of the loan ...

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