Home Mortgage

The interest rate on your mortgage is tied directly to how much you pay on your mortgage each month--lower rates usually mean lower payments. You may be able to get a lower rate because of changes in the market conditions or because your credit score has improved. A lower interest rate also may allow you to build equity in your home more quickly. For example, compare the monthly payments (for principal and interest) on a 30-year fixed-rate loan of $200,000 at 5.5% and 6.0%. 

Increase the term of your mortgage: You may want a mortgage with a longer term to reduce the amount that you pay each month. However, this will also increase the length of time you will make mortgage payments and the total amount that you end up paying toward interest.

Decrease the term of your mortgage: Shorter-term mortgages--for example, a 15-year mortgage instead of a 30-year mortgage--generally have lower interest rates. Plus, you pay off your loan sooner, further reducing your total interest costs. The trade-off is that your monthly payments usually are higher because you are paying more of the principal each month. For example, compare the total interest costs for a fixed-rate loan of $200,000 at 6% for 30 years with a fixed-rate loan at 5.5% for 15 years. Refinancing is not the only way to decrease the term of your mortgage. By paying a little extra on principal each month, you will pay off the loan sooner and reduce the term of your loan. For example, adding $50 each month to your principal payment on the 30-year loan above reduces the term by 3 years and saves you more than $27,000 in interest costs.
If you currently have an ARM, will the next interest rate adjustment increase your monthly payments substantially? You may choose to refinance to get another ARM with better terms. For example, the new loan may start out at a lower interest rate. Or the new loan may offer smaller interest rate adjustments or lower payment caps, which means that the interest rate cannot exceed a certain amount. For more details, see the Consumer Handbook on Adjustable-Rate Mortgages.

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