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40 Year Mortgage Revealed

June 20th, 2009 1 comment

40 Year Mortgage Revealed

To help the affordability of the housing market, the now well-known 40 year mortgage was announced. In a 40 year mortgage period everything is remains as usual, but you will have to repay your mortgage amount in 40 years instead of 30 with slight higher interest rates i.e. your amortization period will be of 40 years. These mortgage loans are provided in the form of 40 year fixed or hybrid adjustable rate interest rate mortgage loans.  Let’s try and assess the 40 year mortgage specs, for the good or the bad.

Advantages
A major advantage of the 40 year mortgage (fixed rate) is reducing the monthly payment considerably by stretching out the amortization schedule over a longer period of time. It can help keep your payments get much lower. It’s proven to be a better home loan option to buy a house in a high-cost real estate market. It potentially increases the amount of houses you can afford and the amount of extra cash you have on a monthly basis. A 40 year mortgage would also work wonders if you are earning a high income and you are looking for a nice tax deduction to be taken off your monthly payments.

Drawbacks
With so many advantages of a 40 year mortgage, it also comes with some drawbacks. A 40 year mortgage lender charges higher interest rates for providing longer repayment periods. Its other disadvantage is that most mortgages are paid off early anyway, when the borrower refinances the loan or sells the home. In this mortgage you build equity more slowly, so when you decide to sell – if you ever do – chances are that you might have to sell at a loss since you’ve paid more to own the house. It also creates a headache for bankers, as they have to create a tool that calculates the effects that are caused by interest rate changes, in a variety of scenarios that might arise. This would help the bankers to be prepared for any possible drawbacks that they might face.

A 40 year mortgage has many flaws; but still it can be good choice for many buyers. The people who plan to stay in their houses for a long period should opt for such a loan. However, since the average American moves every seven years, in most cases it doesn’t make any sense. Do you research and you will find other kinds of mortgages that will eventually cut your payments down as a 40 year mortgage would or even more. An interest-only mortgage might be the way to go. Taking on that kind of a mortgage will reduce your payments however don’t expect to build equity with it. In the end, the decision is for you to take, whether you want to go for that mortgage plan or not.