What should I know to acquire a mortgage loan?

A mortgage or mortgage loan consists of obtaining money to buy, refinance or improve a home. However, you need to consider the following recommendations before applying for a mortgage loan:

1. Investigate what the current interest rates are: to obtain this information, you must search the Internet or call several lender entities.
2. Verify what are the 30, 20 and 15 year mortgage rates: The verification of fees is important since obtaining the short term mortgage loan to be paid, you can save a lot of money in interest charges.
3. Search information in various financial institutions: With the information provided by different banks you can make comparisons of different loans and terms. Also, it is important that you ask for the different annual interest rates, with or without the use of points to obtain a lower rate. Finally, find out about the agents' fees and other payments.
4. Find out if they work with fixed or adjustable rate: Adjustable interest rates usually vary a lot during the mortgage period, which generates the payment of hundreds of dollars per month. For this reason, find out when and how you can change the payment terms in case the rate is adjustable.
5. Find out how much the Initial payment goes up: As a Initial payment, some banks ask for 20% of the price of the home. However, there are banks that provide loans with smaller amounts. For its part, the bank may ask you to buy private mortgage insurance to protect yourself in case you fall behind with payments.
6. Investigate the total cost of insurance if you need private mortgage insurance: It is important to know how much the monthly payment will rise when the periodic payment is integrated and for how long you will have to maintain it.
7. Ask if you can repay the loan in advance: It is necessary to know this since some loans penalize the payment in advance.

This article is made for informative and divulgative purposes. For this reason, it is important that before making any decision, visit or contact a certified specialist in the field, since the opinion of the expert is the one that should be considered.