This is How Your Monthly Mortgage Payments Are Broken Down
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Getting a mortgage can be stressful, especially if you are a first time home buyer. What can be even more stressful is not having a full understanding of your monthly mortgage payments. Many home buyers are not aware of the differences in principal and interest payments.
What is Principal?
When a home loan refers to the principal, it is referring to the actual amount of the loan that does not include any interest or any other fees associated with it. If you were to make specific principal payments, you would only be paying on the full loan amount, minus fees and interest. When you have either an
adjustable rate loan or a
fixed rate loan, you can have two different outcomes. Adjustable-rate loans means that the principal payments can go up or down throughout the life of the loan. Fixed-rate loans means that the principal itself will not change, but other parts of your loan still can.
What is Interest?
Interest Rates are a bit different from principal payments. Interest is merely what the
lender is charging you for providing the loan to you. Sometimes it can be very beneficial to make certain payments early on for a home loan because it can bring down the interest rate. Paying points is one way that you can help to bring down your interest rates continually. Also, know that every lender will have a different method and can offer different rates to you. This is why it is a good idea to shop around before settling on any one lender for providing you with a home loan.
Final Thoughts
You need to know where your money is going to make the most of your home investment. Principal is the amount of your money actually going into the house, and interest is the payment you're making to your lender for their services. Now that you know, you can understand why some people make payments above the agreed upon amount of their monthly mortgage payments -- all extra money will go toward the principal balance, not the banker's pockets.
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