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Term Extension On Home Loan Refinancing
Sometimes due to bad credit or market conditions, it is not possible to get lower monthly payments on your home loan by refinancing. This is due to the fact that those with bad credit usually can not get a lower interest rate and that sometimes, market conditions push the mortgage loans interest rate up. However, you can still get lower installments by refinancing your loan with a longer repayment program.
The term extension will get you lower monthly payments because the loans capital is spread over a higher number of installments. With this method, if you could not afford your current mortgage loans monthly payments, you can obtain lower and affordable installments that you will be able to pay without having to make sacrifices.
Home Loan Repayment Programs
The home loan repayment program or schedule is the duration in time of the home loan. It determines the number of installments you will need to pay throughout the whole life of the loan. Payments can be done one a monthly basis, on a weekly basis, or biweekly too. Depending on the way payments are done and on the duration of the loan, you will obtain the resulting number of monthly payments.
For example: if a home loan has a 10 year repayment program, you will have 120 installments to repay the loan if payments are made monthly. But if payments are made biweekly, you will have 240 installments that will of course be of a lower amount than in the case of the loan payable on a monthly basis.
A mortgage loan repayment program can be as long as 30 years. However, the average mortgage loan has duration of 20 years or just a bit more. Thus, if you need to obtain lower monthly payments, it is always possible to refinance your home loan in order to extend the repayment schedule and thus, obtain a lower installment in return.
Consequences of Extending the Loan Term
The consequences of extending the loan term are varied, some of them are positive and others are negative. Thus, you will need to ponder them in order to decide whether home loan refinancing for a longer repayment program is the right option for you. Basically you will need to compare the resulting terms with your needs in order to see if the costs of refinancing are equal or lower than the benefits.
Ultimately, by refinancing for a longer repayment program, you will obtain lower and more affordable monthly payments. If you are lucky enough to refinance with a lower interest rate, you might be able to compensate the higher costs that a longer repayment schedule represents with the savings that a lower interest rate provide, or at least part of them.
This is due to the fact that when you refinance for a longer repayment program you are actually adding interests to your overall loan repayment. Since interests are based on time, a longer repayment program implies more interests and thus an overall larger debt. Even if you obtain lower monthly payments, you are actually paying more on the long run. It is just that the costs are spread over more installments.
Cheap Home Loans
Simply put, the “cheapest” home loan or mortgage is the one that costs you the least over the term of the loan taking into account interest rates, fees and penalties. If you are looking for a cheap home loan deal, here are some tips that could save you time and money:
Dont assume that your trusty bank of 20 years is going to give you the best deal today because they offered you a great deal the last time you needed a home loan. Today, there are a lot more home loan options than there used to be.
There are hundreds of home loan products available and shopping around could save you tens of thousands of dollars. The Internet has made comparing home loans fast and easy. With todays online mortgage comparison tools, it is possible to identify a list of potentially suitable home loans in a few minutes. Comparing home loans with the aid of these advanced tools is the smart and convenient way to find you ideal home loan.
Nowadays, prospective borrowers are bombarded with marketing claims of “discounted” or “low” rates. Often these so called “discount rates” may only be introductory offers or come with other fees and conditions in the fine print. It is important to look beyond the headline rates and see what you are actually getting. A good comparison tool could help you see beyond the hype and hidden costs.
Consider your particular circumstances carefully. One home loan product may be ideal for one borrower but may not be the best option for another. The terms and features specific to each loan product could make a huge difference to their cost over the term of the loan.
One way to reduce accrued interest is to make biweekly repayments rather than monthly repayments. An even better way to reduce interest is to take advantage of the offset feature offered by many lenders. Offset facilities allow you to deposit your spending money into a linked account, whereby the balance is subtracted (offset) from the home loan principal. This is especially beneficial if you have significant amounts of money coming into your accounts on a regular basis.
Redraw facilities, if used effectively, could also save you a great deal of money over the term of your mortgage. Every time you receive a lump sum of money or have any money left over, you could deposit it into your mortgage account, reducing the principal and therefore the interest. Then, when you need money for an emergency or unexpected expense, many good home loan products will let you take it out again without fees. Parking additional money in your home loan is better than putting it into high interest accounts, which usually pay a lower rate of interest than the interest charged on home loans.
Conversely, even small penalties and fees can compound and be extremely costly over the term of the loan. Beware of fees and penalties such as monthly recurring fees, late payment penalties and redraw fees.
On a final note, beware of costly “exit fees” that may apply for several years after you take out a mortgage. Special introductory rates often come with severe penalties in the event that you pay off of the mortgage within a few years, and this could be a considerable burden if you are forced to sell your home.