You have found that dream home, now which of the home loan programs is right for you? There is no simple answer to that question; home loan programs need to be studied to choose what is best. This all depends upon your individual family preferences and financial circumstances.
Some factors to consider when choosing from the different home loan programs. Your current financial situation, do you expect this situation to change? How comfortable are you with a changing mortgage payment? A fixed rate mortgage can save you thousands in interest over the period of the loan, but it will also give you higher monthly mortgage rates. An adjustable rate will start you out with lower monthly payments but you could face higher monthly payments if the rates change.
You have decided which type of loan is best for you, now you need to choose which of the more popular home loan programs, is the best one for you.
15 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage – A type of mortgage where the interest rate never changes for the duration of the loan. Unless the mortgage has an interest only or other payment option features, payments are amortized over 15 years, that is, the homeowner makes equal monthly payments and the entire loan would be paid off in 15 years.If you are unsure whether you will be able to continue making payments on a 15 year mortgage at some point down the road, consider a longer-term mortgage, where you pay less each month. Your mortgage professional should be able to tell you how much extra to pay each month if you still want to pay off the loan in 15 years.
Since a 15 year fixed rate mortgage comes with a considerably higher monthly payment than its 30 year counterpart, this loan would be best suited for borrowers who have good monthly cash flow. Also borrowers who have high balances on other consumer type debt would be advised to avoid this loan at least until the other debt is paid down. It usually would not make sense to accelerate the payment of low interest, tax deductable mortgage debt while slowly servicing high interest, non-tax deductable consumer debt.