Lynn Butterfield, Coldwell Banker Harris McHaney & Faucette-RogersPhone: (801) 550-6334
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Getting a mortgage is a major part of the homebuying journey, but many first-time borrowers wonder: “how does a mortgage work?” While the basic concept of a loan might be simple, mortgages come with an entire process consisting of multiple stages.
Most borrowers begin by comparing mortgage lenders and getting preapproval for a specific amount of money. But what happens after approval? What about monthly payments, amortization and interest? How do you know the amount of money you need?
To help answer these questions and more, here are some important nuances of mortgages every prospective homebuyer should know.
Amortization is a term for paying back a loan in equal, scheduled payments. For home mortgages, this comprises your monthly mortgage payments over the entire life of the loan.
An amortization schedule for a mortgage has some part of each payment going toward paying interest and another part toward paying the principal. To start, the amount paid toward the principal is less than the interest, but will grow over time.
The beginning of the repayment schedule is another important aspect of mortgages to be aware of. Unlike rent payable the first day of the month, a mortgage payment must be made in advance. When the home sale is final, your very first payment will typically be due one month after that date.
For example, if closing occurs on January 25, your first payment will be due February 25. Each payment covers principal and interest for the prior month. However, there are some instances in which you can prepay interest. You can discuss these details with your lender.
Before you apply for a mortgage, you’ll want to know how much money you actually need to borrow - and how much you can afford to pay back. The best way to do this is by using a mortgage calculator to figure out the amount of your mortgage payments (M), including principal (P) and interest (I).
There are plenty of calculators available online you can use, or you can use the following equation:
M = P [ I ( 1 + I )^N ] / [ ( 1 + I )^N – 1 ]
In this equation, P equals the total principal amount borrowed, I equals the interest rate and N equals the number of payments (usually months). You can solve for M to find the amount of your monthly payment and the total cost of the loan.
While these are only a few of the important things to know about how mortgages work, they will help you navigate the process of borrowing money to buy your dream home.
Lynn Butterfield is an Associate Broker at Coldwell Banker and is a Certified Real Estate Negotiator. Mr. Butterfield has 41 years of experience in real estate sales and development. His vast experience ranges from luxury sales through commercial sales and leasing. Perhaps more importantly, he focuses his attention on client success, whether he's helping someone buy their first home, or working with a developer seeking assistance to create and position a large project in the marketplace. One recent client said, "Working with Lynn is almost like working with a Real Estate Attorney, because he knows exactly what to look for, so you can be protected!" Another first-time home buyer just said, "I needed someone to hold my hand through this because it's the largest investment we'll ever make! I know he isn't in this just to make a quick buck. He really cares about his clients!"
Whether you're in the research phase at the beginning of your real estate search or you know exactly what you're looking for, you'll benefit from having a real estate professional by your side. He would be honored to put his real estate experience to work for you.
