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Homebuyer Interest Rate

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The first mortgage option is a 15-year, fixed rate mortgage. This mortgage type maintains a steady interest rate for the fifteen-year term of the loan and requires the homebuyer to make equal monthly payments until the loan is amortized (Zillow.com, n.d.[b]). Because the term of this loan is short, the monthly mortgage payment will be higher than with a longer-term loan as the principal must be paid off in a shorter amount of time. The interest rate associated with a mortgage varies by lending institution, homebuyer’s credit score, loan term, location of home, among other variables (Geffner, 2009). For the purposes of this analysis, we will assume that the homebuyer has qualified for Bank of America’s 15-year, fixed rate mortgage interest rate …show more content…

This mortgage type has a thirty-year term with a steady interest rate for the first ten years of the loan; after this initial period, the interest rate will adjust yearly for the remaining twenty years of the loan (Zillow.com, n.d.[c]). This adjustment will be based on “the fluctuation of an index” (Bank of America, n.d.[b]) in addition to the margin of the lending institution- “a fixed percentage rate that you add to your index rate to obtain the fully indexed rate for an adjustable-rate mortgage” (Zillow.com, n.d.[c]). Banks will place caps on the yearly adjustment of the interest rate as well as over the life of the loan (Bank of America, n.d.[b]). Because the interest rate fluctuates during the life of the loan, the homebuyer’s monthly payment will fluctuate as well. For the sake of this analysis, we will assume that the homebuyer has qualified for Bank of America’s initial 10/1 ARM interest rate of 3.5% (Bank of America, n.d.[b]), with 0.1% increases every year thereafter. It should be noted however, that an ARM’s interest rate does not necessarily increase every year; the interest rate may decrease, causing a homebuyer’s monthly payment to decrease in some cases (The Federal Reserve Board, n.d., p. …show more content…

With an initial interest rate of 3.5%, a homebuyer’s monthly principal/interest payment during the first ten years is $772.36. The actual monthly payment will be, as with the 15-year fixed rate mortgage, increased by the monthly escrow payments of homeowner’s insurance and property taxes- making the actual monthly payment during the first ten years $1,246.36. Under the assumption that the interest rate would increase by 0.1% every year after the initial 10-year period, the homebuyer’s principal/interest payment increases from the aforementioned $772.36, to $850.15, with their total monthly payment increasing from $1,246.36 to $1,324.21. Again, the proportion of the principal/interest payment directed towards interest charges is the periodic interest rate of the period multiplied by the previous month’s ending principal balance. The remainder of the principal/interest payment is then applied to the principal balance. Under the given terms, the homebuyer will have paid an initial $43,000 down payment, $172,000 in principal payments and $118,539.50 in interest charges for a total expenditure on a $215,000 listed home of

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