Grab RSS Feed...by Kiley Black
They say home is where the heart is. Yet do you know that a mortgage is the heart of every good financial plan?Making sure you have the right mortgage can save a significant amount of money. Since mortgage rates are near historic lows, now is the perfect time to take another look at your current home mortgage.
When it comes to determining if your mortgage is still the right one for you, some important factors to consider include the type of loan (or loans) you currently have, your current loan balance, your current interest rate, and any recent or upcoming changes to your financial situation (i.e. job change, marriage, divorce, kids going to college, etc).
One of the most important documents is called “the Note”. You will clearly see this labeled on the top of the form. It is several pages long, and you probably have several copies of it. This document will tell you the amount of your original loan, as well as the interest rate you at which you closed, and most importantly, the terms of the loan itself.
If you currently have an adjustable rate note (ARM) it should state how often your interest rate will adjust (annually, semi-annually, or monthly). In addition, the Note will indicate if your ARM carries a Prepayment Penalty. These are key factors in determining whether your current ARM remains the best loan for your situation. Just as it is important to gather the information on your first mortgage, you should also gather the information for your second mortgage, if you have one.
Now for some good news in what has been a lagging real estate market: The latest numbers for the Case-Shiller Index were released showing that the average home price climbed for the third straight month. Some of the gains may be seasonal, but the news is good for now – the metropolitan Boston area showed the second highest gain (2.9) of the 20 metropolitan areas in the survey.