30 Year Fixed Rate mortgages are now thought of as old fashioned. We use the words "standard" or "classic" or even "conventional" to describe one of the most popular loans in history. You may be surprised to know that the history of the 30 year fixed rate mortgage is not too long, and in fact its popularity a relatively recent affair. In fact, the 30 year fixed rate mortgage was introduced during the New Deal of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's administration through the creation of the FHA, or Federal Housing Administration.
Prior to the new deal, mortgages were primarily of the "balloon" variety, similar in concept to an auto lease. You could make payments each month for 20 years and still owe the bank a large lump sum at the end of the loan. More disturbingly, mortgages made prior to the advent of the 30 year fixed often had a "call" provision. You may have heard the expression of a bank "calling" a loan before, even if it was in an old movie. What this means is, unlike the fixed rate mortgages of today which have a definite end date, a bank prior to Roosevelt's FHA could demand immediate payment at any time, regardless of how many years were left on the loan. If the borrower could not refinance, they would lose their home to the bank in a foreclosure. And lose them they did, by the hundreds of thousands at the very height of the Great Depression.
Roosevelt's administration devised a new concept in banking, a loan which had a fixed period of time, called a term, during which a fixed amount of principal and a fixed or variable amount of interest would be paid back. In full. This new "fully amortizing" loan consisting of principal and interest was a major innovation in banking, and resulted in the explosion of home ownership that we have had in the USA since World War II.
The availability of cheap, safe home loans with no surprises may seem old fashioned today, but when we look at today's market conditions, where interest rates rise daily and the mortgage industry roils under the burden of hundreds of thousands of bad loans, old fashioned 30 year fixed rate loans don't seem like such a bad choice do they?
The problem most borrowers run into when they look to refinance into a 30 year fixed rate mortgage is that their payments look like they are going up. And in many cases this can be true, because not all borrowers qualify for the best rates, and qualifying for mortgages is harder today than it was five years ago as lending standards tighten. Whereas 30 year fixed rate mortgages used to be considered affordable by comparison to their competition, over the past 20 years they have become increasingly expensive compared to Adjustable Rate Mortgages.
A newer issue that affects many borrowers seeking to refinance into the security of a 30 year fixed rate is that they would have to give up some of the flexibility of their current Adjustable Rate home loan. This particularly affects borrowers who are currently in Cash Flow or Payment Option ARM mortgages, which allow borrowers to defer interest in exchange for home equity to obtain a dramatically lower minimum payment each month.
30 year fixed loans are good for a lot of things, but flexibility has traditionally not been one of them. Until now that is. New programs have been introduced over the past several months which combine the safe, secure dependable 30 year fixed rate mortgage with the powerful cash flow options of ARM mortgages. The result? The 30 Year Fixed Cash Flow mortgage. Low payments, Fixed Rates, and if you want to hold on to it for 30 years you'll own the home at the end. They are incredible loans, allowing you to pay as little as $1100 a month as the minimum payment on a $500,000 mortgage, while maintaining a fixed rate for the life of the loan. No nasty surprises, no nightmares about your mortgage. Just a smart choice made more affordable, and surprisingly easier to qualify for. Provided that you have been paying your mortgage on time and have at least 20% equity in your home, these loans are generally available with no minimum credit score requirement, and certain lenders don't even charge an appraisal fee upfront, making refinancing into a30 year fixed rate mortgage with a cash flow option one of the easiest, most effective ways to avoid the high payments you may face if your adjustable rate mortgage's introductory rate is about to expire.
Bringing old fashioned sensibility to the creative financial options of today's modern mortgages is a great fit for borrowers from nearly any walk of life, however it is important to note that only a handful of lenders currently offer this program. If your mortgage company cannot help you obtain a 30 year fixed cash flow refinance, feel free to contact us and we'll try to steer you in the right direction. As always, our phones and our emails are open to your questions. Until next time, Live Smart.
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