Fixed or Adjustable Rates? - Mortgage Comparison
Buying a House in the Columbia SC Area

Before adjustable-rate mortgages came into being, only fixed-rate mortgages existed. Usually issued for 15- or 30-year periods, fixed-rate mortgages (as the name suggests) have interest rates that are fixed (unchanging) during the entire life of the loan.

With a fixed-rate mortgage, the interest rate stays the same and your monthly mortgage payment amount does not change. No surprises, no uncertainty, and no anxiety for you over interest-rate changes and changes in your monthly payment. Your mortgage interest rate and monthly payment (excluding any taxes, insurance, and other fees that may be added to your monthly payment) remain locked for the life of the loan. If you like the predictability of your favorite television show airing at the same time daily, you'll probably like fixed-rate mortgages.

Other minor drawbacks with some fixed-rate mortgages:

• If you sell your house before paying off your fixed-rate mortgage, your buyers probably won't be able to assume that mortgage.
• Fixed-rate mortgages sometimes have prepayment penalties (not permitted in some states, but they ARE permitted in South Carolina).  The ability to pass your loan on to the next buyer (in real estate talk, the next buyer assumes your loan) can be useful if you're forced to sell during a rare period of ultra-high interest rates, such as occurred in the early 1980s.  Selling during such a time could reduce the pool of potential buyers for your home if, in order to avoid a prepayment penalty, you don't allow an otherwise-qualified buyer who is having trouble obtaining an affordable loan to assume your mortgage.

Adjustable-rate mortgages have an interest rate that varies (or adjusts).

The interest rate on an ARM typically adjusts every six to twelve months, but it may change as frequently as every month or every three months.

Although some adjustable rate mortgages are more volatile than others, all are similar in that they fluctuate (or float) with the market level of interest rates. If the interest rate fluctuates, then so does your monthly payment. And therein lies the risk: Because a mortgage payment is likely to be a big monthly expense for you, an adjustable-rate mortgage that is adjusting upwards may wreak havoc with your budget.

Given all the trials, tribulations, and challenges of life as we know it, you may rightfully ask, "Why would anyone choose to accept an adjustable-rate mortgage?" Well, people who are stretching themselves -- such as some first-time buyers or those trading up to a more expensive home -- may financially force themselves into accepting adjustable-rate mortgages. Because an ARM starts out at a lower interest rate, such a mortgage enables you to qualify to borrow more. Just because you can qualify to borrow more doesn't mean you can afford to borrow that much, given your other financial goals and needs. This is part of what caused the great Mortgage Meltdown of 2008. However, some ARMs will remain at the same rate for a given number of years (5 years, for example.) If you are quite sure that you will be transferred or moving before that time, an ARM may be a great deal for you.

As with so many other aspects of buying a home, there is no hard and fast rule as to what is the best loan. It changes with each individual’s situation. This is just another reason why you need an Exclusive Buyers Agent, who is working at all times to protect your best interests, to assist and advise you throughout the home buying process.

Ask Hugh and Carol Ryall, Earth Available Realty, Inc., about mortgage options when buying Columbia SC home.

This Home Buying Tip was excerpted from

Home Buying For Dummies (3rd Edition), by Eric Tyson, Ray Brown. © 2006 by Eric Tyson, Ray Brown, used by permission of Wiley Publishing. 

ISBN-10: 0471768472

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