Your Total Monthly Mortgage Payment May Be More Than You Think.
Be careful though as the advertising departments of mortgage companies simply want to bait you in to their office so they can provide your home loan. To do this they will advertise extremely low payments in their ads. These payments are typically derived from specialty home loan programs that may not be the best bet for your long term interest.
These specialty home loan products can be “Interest-Only” payments, “Deferred-Interest” payments or “Negative Amortization” programs. These mortgage programs can be decent for select individuals, however for a first time home buyer, they can be extremely dangerous if you do not know ALL the facts.
Also these advertised mortgage payments usually do not include any property taxes or home owners insurance that you will also need to pay each month.
The underlying truth though is that most of these payments that you find are not completely accurate. Most of the super low mortgage payments that you see advertised are known as Interest-Only payments and usually do not include Property Taxes or Homeowners Insurance that you will also need to pay for each month.
Also, these super low payments will also require extremely high credit scores and at least a 20% down payment. If you can find the fine print, you will see the requirements. Ad advertisement does not know what your credit score is or if you plan on putting down a down payment.
When talking to your mortgage lender, make sure that they specify what your TOTAL monthly payment will be and what is included in that total.
Keep in mind too, that some neighborhoods will require you to pay a Home Owners Association fee or other Community specific fees each month. If renting, you also may not realize all the different types of utilities that need to be paid as a home owner. Talk to your Real Estate agent and have them prepare a list of all the expenses and utilities that are associated with the neighborhood you are looking to buy a home in.
Buying your first home should be a positive memory in your life, not a financial nightmare. So make sure you know everything that can about the process so that there will be no surprises down the road.
