Types of Mortgage Interest Rates

There are many mortgage interest rates being offered at any one time. From one lender, you will find several options for various types of loans. This can make things very confusing to most that are looking to just purchase a home. Yet, there are many ways to find the right overall cost of the loan for much less. One thing to do is to use a loan calculator to help you to secure the lowest rates. This can break it all down and tell you just what your monthly payment will be as well as just what you will pay, in the long run, for your home loan.

Many things affect mortgage rates - which is why they fluctuate. So it pays to understand a little about how mortgage interest rates are generated and the types that exist. The more you know about the economic factors that change rates, the more prepared you are to find the perfect home loan at an interest rate that's perfect for you as well.

Types of Interest Rate
You have researched into all the different mortgage types and found a suitable one for you. Now is time to look into what type of interest rate you wish to pay. The type of interest you wish to pay will depend on your circumstances and how much you are willing to pay out every month. You will find out below that not all interest rates/types are the same.

Discounted rate
A discounted rate allows the buyer to pay a reduced payment for a fixed amount of time. After the fixed term is aver the rate usually increases to the national base rate. Discounted rates are attractive for first time buyers and also home buyers who require extra cash for renovations. The term of discount does give you time to get used to having a mortgage payment.

Fixed rates
With a fixed rate mortgage you are guaranteed the same rate of interest every month for a fix period or term. This rate will not fluctuate as long as you are in an agreement for a fixed term. The fixed term can be anywhere from 1 to 7 years. Do be careful when taking a fixed rate mortgage term don't forget to ask the lender if you have any obligation to stay with the lender after the fixed term is over?

Variable rate
Variable rate mortgages do tend to fluctuate around the base rate, and are generally higher then the discounted, fixed and capped rates that are also available. Usually, after you have been at a discounted rate, your interest rate will move up to a variable rate. This could be for a specified time you have agreed to with the lender.

Capped rate
With a capped rate mortgage, the lender will cap the mortgage rate to a specific amount, which allows the interest rate to never rise above this level for a fixed term. However if the interest rate decreases? So will your rate.

Tracker mortgages
A tracker mortgage actually tracks the Bank of England base rate. This means your mortgage stays in line with interest rates. The way a tracker reflects on your monthly mortgage interest payments is that they go up when the base rate goes up and go down when the base rate goes down.

Similar to a standard variable rate mortgage a tracker follows the percentage rate imposed by the Bank of England. Unlike the standard variable rate mortgage changes annually or monthly a tracker mortgage guarantees to follow changes in the Bank of England base rate within 2 weeks of the interest rate changing, allowing the borrower to benefit from both falls and rises of the interest rate quicker.

However, there are disadvantage to tracker mortgages. If interest rates were to rise sharply, so too would the cost of a tracker, so in situation like this you would lose out and find yourself paying more per month that you did the previous month. In this type of situation a fixed rate or a capped rate mortgage would have been advantageous to the borrower.

Trackers do work better for the borrower when interest rates are falling but if you look at the bigger picture, they give you clear insight to whatever the Bank of England does with rates. With a tracker both the borrower and the lender know exactly what they are getting.

Flexible Mortgages
With a flexible interest mortgage, you the lender can usually pay more if you have extra cash available, pay less if you need to save a little, maybe even take a holiday from your payments. Flexible is what it is, flexible. Also the interest on a flexible mortgage is calculated daily instead of annually. So you reduce the interest amount with every payment.

Checking the APR
Always remember to check the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) of the mortgage you are considering taking out for a specified term. Usually the lower the APR the cheaper the rate at which you will pay back every month. However do be careful, some lenders will offer you the opportunity to take a very low APR over a fixed period and then a standard rate for a further fixed term. Situations like this can potentially turn to disaster for some people. If you have discounted mortgage rate for two years at 3.9% which totals a monthly payment of £300 per month, after the 3.9% term has ended, you are still in a contract with the lender for a further two years at a rate of 5.9% you will find that the payment will increase substantially.

In this situation you could find yourself not being able to afford the mortgage payment, also unable to transfer your mortgage to another lender due to redemption penalties for early breach of contract.

Redemption penalties
The various discounted mortgages available e.g. capped, discounted and fixed do tend to carry a redemption penalty. This is due to the lender operating a special rate for the fixed amount of time. Some of the standard rate periods can be for a longer period than the special rate term. So do not forget to read the small print, and always remember to ask about the redemption penalties and the standard rate period of the mortgage you are enquiring about. There are mortgages out there now that offer no fixed penalties or require you to be tied in with a lender over the discounted period.

Now, there are many factors that play into the mortgage rate that you can get as well. This includes the credit score that you have. The more risk a choice you are as a borrower, the more costly a home will be to you in interest. The best way to keep this from hurting you with high charges is to keep your credit rating as high as possible. Pay off bills on time, pay down debt as much as possible and keep your debt to credit ratio on the right track and you will have many more benefits to lower interest.