Interest Only Mortgage
Interest-only mortgage loans may be the solution for you if you are looking for a way to afford more home for less money.
How Do Interest-Only Mortgage Loans Work?
An interest-only mortgage loan is very simple. For an agreed period of time (generally the early years of a mortgage when most of the payment goes toward interest anyway), your monthly payment will consist of only the interest due for that month. No portion of the payment goes toward paying down the principal balance. At the end of the interest-only period, your loan reverts to its original terms, with the monthly payments adjusted upward to reflect full amortization over the remaining years of the loan (for instance, following a five-year interest-only loan, a 30-year mortgage would now fully amortize over 25 years).
What Are the Pros and Cons of this Type of Loan?
Cons. As previously mentioned, you will not build any equity in your home with this type of mortgage. Essentially, you are leasing your home indefinitely, or until there is a balloon payment, because you are not paying down the principal at all.
Pros. However, for someone with an irregular income (perhaps a smaller base income with significant bonuses once or twice per year) this could be a very workable option. Another reason some borrowers prefer this loan type is when they know they will need to sell within a relatively short period (maybe 2 - 5 years). In this situation, having the least amount invested in the home may make the most sense.
- With Interest Only ARMs, borrowers pay only the interest during the initial fixed period of the loan (3 or 5 years)
- Fixed rates also available for interest only
- Then, payments adjust to fully amortize the mortgage over the remaining term as an adjustable rate mortgage
- Primary Residences, 2nd Homes and Investment properties available
- Mortgage Insurance is not available on interest only loans
