December 22, 2008
What First Time Buyer Mortgages are All About
First time buyer mortgage deals are designed to get people who probably couldn’t afford a down payment on a house or traditionally wouldn’t be able to get a mortgage loan to buy their dream house. There are several different types of first time buyer mortgage deals out there, and if you are looking into buying your first house, knowing about these bonuses is going to help you to get the best deal possible for your needs.
One thing that many first time buyers get offered to them is the opportunity to pay a lower down payment on their new house. Most first time buyers just don’t have the required 20% of the purchase price of the home saved up. Some banks are allowing their first time buyers to put down just 5% or 10% of the price before they move in.
It may or may not be beneficial to take the bank up on this offer. Instead of pinching your pennies for years, you are going to get to live in your house a lot sooner. If you take the bank up on this offer, they will often require that you carry a private mortgage insurance to offset the risk. The more insurance that you have to pay, the less money that is going to pay off your loan. If you don’t have to pay a large down payment, you might foolishly believe that you can afford a more expensive house than your budget allows. If your finances change, you could up losing your house.
Some banks are going to offer first time buyers the opportunity to have a lower rate interest on their mortgage for a fixed period of time. This may help the first time buyer because they will be able to have a lower payment for the first year or six months of their mortgage. It can also cause a lot of problems because first time buyers get so used to the low payments that it is hard to adjust when the lower interest goes away.
First time buyers forget to plan for the rest of the mortgage when they are going to have to pay a higher interest rate because they got used to the lower payment. They find that they can’t afford their current lifestyle when they have to pay the higher interest. You probably even gave yourself the goal to save that extra money and put it towards your mortgage. The goal is never reached because you spend so much money on redoing your home and buying furniture that matches.
Some banks will offer their first time buyers a mortgage with no closing fees or some other gift. They offer these deals to gain your loyalty.
First time buyers have power when getting their first mortgage, but they also have stress. The stress comes from the pressure to get a mortgage that is too expensive, because the banks will make more money in interest. The most important tip is to make sure that you can afford it when getting your first mortgage.
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