When the exciting time comes to get a mortgage on your first home or property, there are a lot of factors to consider before you make a commitment. Visit: https://askross.ca/
1. How to Choose the Best Mortgage
When the exciting time comes to get a mortgage on your first home or property, there are a lot of
factors to consider before you make a commitment. One of the most important questions that you will
have to ask yourself and any prospective lender that you deal with is, “Will the interest rate be fixed or
variable?”
This sounds like just a drop in the bucket in terms of everything else that pertains to obtaining a
mortgage but knowing the difference between fixed-rate and variable-rate mortgages as well as how
each one can benefit or disadvantage you is essential. Here are some key details from our friend, a
mortgage broker in Toronto, that will help you with your home purchase or mortgage refinancing in
Toronto.
What is a Fixed-Rate Mortgage?
For the duration of a mortgage with a fixed interest rate, the interest is not subject to change. This rate
is applied at the beginning of your mortgage term and will not go up or down.
What is a Variable-Rate Mortgage?
Variable-rate mortgages are a bit more complex than fixed-rate mortgages because the interest rate
does not remain static. The interest rate in this case can be unpredictable, subject to increases and
decreases that can be tough to account for. However, the rate at the start of a variable-rate mortgage
tends to be lower than the rate applied to fixed-rate mortgages.
How to Choose the Right Type of Mortgage
Those who are banking on predictability tend to favor fixed-rate mortgages for several reasons, the
most notable of which is the fact that they can plan their finances accordingly without unexpected
changes. There is every possibility that interest rates will rise of the duration of the term, and a fixed
rate safeguards against this possibility entirely.
Keeping one’s payments the same makes it easier to budget, an appealing facet of fixed-rate mortgages
for those who don’t have extra funds to spare on unexpectedly high interest rates.
Variable-rate mortgages are more appealing to those who have the means to pay for a higher interest
rate if rates do climb over the course of the term. The amount by which this figure increases can be hard
to predict, though many who start with variable-rate mortgages pay a smaller interest rate initially than
those who participate in fixed-rate arrangements.
Because a home buyer could end up spending quite a bit more (or less) than they initially anticipated on
interest, there are some questions that you need to consider when arranging your variable-rate
mortgage with your lender:
How high can the interest rate climb from month to month?
Is there a cap as to how high the interest rate is allowed to go?
How frequently will the interest rate increase or decrease?
Will you be able to still afford the monthly payments if the interest rates climb?
2. Variable-rate mortgages are a bit of a gamble, but if you have a solid reason to believe that interest
rates may decrease over the span of your term, it can be a serious money-saving solution.
Choosing the right type of mortgage could save you thousands of dollars over the duration of your term,
but prospective home buyers must keep their own circumstances in mind when making this choice.