Mortgage & Refinancing Information

Understanding Mortgage Points


When a mortgage broker asks a borrower to pay points, he or she is asking for a lending fee expressed as a percentage of the value of the loan. For example, two points on a deal worth $100,000 works out to $2,000.

Sometimes, a lender may require the borrower to pay "origination points" on a mortgage. This fee allows the lender to recover many of their costs sooner in the deal rather than waiting to recoup them as part of interest payments. Many lenders use origination points to advertise lower interest rates to potential home buyers. Though their interest margin is thinner, these institutions improve their cash flow by pulling in these profits on the front end of the loan.

Along the same lines, a lender may offer a borrower the chance to pay "discount points" to qualify for a greatly reduced interest rate on a new mortgage. In these deals, the customer can pay an extra percentage point or two of the loan's value as an upfront investment. In return, the lender agrees to knock the interest rate down by a quarter of a percent or more. Though the borrower surrenders more cash at closing, they enjoy tremendous savings over the life of the loan.

In this hyper-competitive, internet-fueled mortgage market, a handful of innovative lenders have experimented with "rebate points." They work very much like discount points, but in reverse. Cash-poor borrowers who want to purchase a home with little or no money down can receive a rebate of a percentage of the home's value. In exchange, they agree to accept a higher interest rate or a prepayment penalty. Though these deals work against the customer's long-term interests, they provide a valid solution for many prospective home buyers without the liquid capital needed to close the deal on a conventional mortgage.

Whenever dealing with points, borrowers should weigh all their available options to understand the best long-term deal for their situation. Home buyers with the ability to afford a large down payment and closing costs will usually benefit from paying discount points. Customers with spotty credit histories may have to lump origination points to a lender that's willing to run a manual underwriting review on their case.

Kevin Adelsberg is a writer for FasteMortgage.com. For additional articles and an extensive resource for everything about mortgages, please visit us at http://www.FasteMortgage.com

  


MORE RESOURCES:

Washington Times

The Truth About Mortgage Refinancing Revealed By Connecticut ...
SBWire (press release), WI - 18 hours ago
Westport, Connecticut based Mortgage Broker Don Caiati reveals mortgage refinancing secrets at a new web site that is full of free reports, a home buying ...
Refinancing suddenly booms Honolulu Advertiser
Lenders Backlogged By Refinancing Rush Washington Post
Low Mortgage Rates Bring Refinancing Boom MSNBC
Forbes - Modesto Bee
all 23 news articles


Xinhua

Average Mortgage Rate Hits 5%, Lowest in Decades
New York Times, United States - 10 hours ago
Of course, buying a home is a more lengthy process than simply calling up a mortgage broker to refinance, and activity typically slows during the holiday ...
US Banks Offer Mortgages Below 5% After Fed Action Bloomberg
Long-Term Mortgage Rate Falls Again Wall Street Journal
Mortgage rates fall to record low again Forbes
Boston Globe - Baltimore Sun
all 862 news articles


Cardoza proposal could aid housing crisis
Stockton Record, CA - 3 hours ago
Under the Cardoza plan, the payment on that mortgage refinanced to 4 percent fixed rate would drop to $1194 a month. Contact reporter Bruce Spence at (209) ...


REFILE-UPDATE 1-US mortgage demand dipped before Fed move-MBA
Reuters - Jan 7, 2009
The jump in applications during December may have been driven by homeowners already "on the fence" and prepared to refinance on a drop in mortgage rates, ...
Mortgage applications down in latest survey Forbes
Week-to-week mortgage applications down 8.2% MarketWatch
Fewer apply for home loans; credit line delinquencies increase Los Angeles Times
KVOA.com - Kansas City Star
all 63 news articles


Boston Globe

Fed’s Rosengren Calls for ‘Concerted’ Fiscal, Monetary Policies
Bloomberg - 5 hours ago
... to purchase or refinance homes,” Rosengren said. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped for a 10th week to 5.01 percent yesterday, ...
Rosengren sees path to recovery Boston Globe
Fed's Rosengren says recession more severe than thought Reuters
all 51 news articles


AFP

Congressional Press Release on Mortgage Deal
Wall Street Journal - 10 hours ago
"Despite efforts by Congress to address this issue, not enough lenders have come to the table to help borrowers with bad mortgages refinance into new, ...
Citigroup reaches agreement with key senators on mortgage ... Minneapolis Star Tribune
Citigroup agrees to allow judges to help modify some mortgages IdahoStatesman.com
all 558 news articles


TopNews

Question & Answer on mortgage refinancing
Boston Herald, United States - Jan 1, 2009
If I refinance the mortgage on my current house, will I hurt my chances for getting a loan for a new place later on? A: No. Refinancing a loan shouldn’t ...
MORTGAGES: 30-year Mortgage Rate Falls For Ninth Straight Week To ... CNNMoney.com
Mortgage Rates Hit 37-Year Low Poynter.org
Home-Mortgage Rates' Next Stop: Below 5% Wall Street Journal
Ventura County Star - Wall Street Journal
all 457 news articles


Refinancing shoots through the roof
Plano Star Courier, TX - 16 hours ago
“Quite a few people have remortgaged,” said Craig Jarrell, loan officer with Pulaski Mortgage. “Most people who refinance are new homeowners as recent as ...


Mortgage refinancing skyrockets
Cincinnati.com, OH - Jan 3, 2009
... 2009 With US mortgage rates the lowest in 30 years, local lenders say they've seen a strong surge in loan applications as homeowners seek to refinance ...
Waco banks seeing a boom in mortgage refinance applications Waco Tribune Herald
Borrowers seeking to refinance may face challenges WTOP
As mortgage rates slide, refinancing applications take off Dallas Morning News
all 15 news articles


The very good reasons to refinance
Boston Globe, United States - 15 hours ago
When I wrote about the hidden cost of the additional years of mortgage payments, several people wrote in with very good reasons to refinance anyway. ...

mortgage refinance - Google News

Article List | Index | Site Map
All logos, trademarks and articles on this site are property and copyright of their respective owner(s).
The comments are property of their posters, all the rest is Copyright © 2006 CanadaSEEK.com - All Rights Reserved.