The
30 Year Interest Only Loan is an exciting, yet relatively new
loan program, that can be used to plan your investment choices and
realestate options. One Great way this loan can be used, is to purchase
a new home, when you may still be waiting to sell your previous home.
When your previous home sells, you can transfer the proceeds to pay
down the principal balance on your new Interest Only Loan,
and your mortgage payment will decrease accordingly!
Interest only loans are great for real estate
investors. They help real estate investors maximize their cash flow.
Interest only loans are also very good for people in professions that
know within a certain amount of time they are going be making a
considerably higher income (such as a doctor, becoming a partner at a
firm, knowing you are going to be accepting a higher position within a
certain time, etc...)Interest only loans also can help homeowners to
maximize their own cash flow in order to invest money into retirement
accounts, pay off high rate debt, start a savings account, etc...
The interest-only option can also be useful when
you are consolidating credit card debt and need to keep your monthly
payments to a minimum. In months when you have extra cash, make an
additional payment toward principal. As you retire debt, make that
extra principal payment a monthly habit!
You will continue to have the option of paying more
than "interest-only." However it is a good option to have in order to
have a lower required payment when needed.
Generally the interest rate on an interest only
loan is slightly higher than that of a loan that includes interest and
principal.
Interest Only mortgages require payments of only
the interest amount incurred in the initial few years. The most common
Interest Only mortgage has a 10-year interest only feature, in which
the mortgagor only needs to pay the interest accrued every month. For
example, with the $200,000 loan at 6.5% fixed interest rate, the
mortgagor only needs to pay $1,083 per month ($200,000 X 6.5%, divided
by 12 months). After the 10-year interest only period, the loan is
amortized to be paid off in the remaining 20 years.
Because the loan is re amortized to a 20 year note
your payment will jump significantly compared to the 30 year amortized
interest only loan.
A fixed rate interest only loan allows you to have
a low interest rate and pay a low payment. Usually homeowners
understand they will need to refinance in the future. This is because
there interest rate will increase after the fixed period and they have
had no principle reduction.
The interest only payment may also let you afford a
slightly more exspensive house then you could afford with a standard
principal and interest payment. Ask your mortgage broker for
information on interest only programs and there benifits.
The balance of the mortgage that you take out on an
interest only loan will always remain the same if you pay the interest
only payment. A $150,000 loan that is an interest only loan and only
the interest payment is made for 5 years will still have a $150,000
balance.