No-closing-cost mortgage loans were extremely popular during the late 1980s and 1990s. From a mortgage lender'therefore perspective, they were occasionally overly popular, as some creditors refinanced multiple times during a 12-month period. Closing costs are occasionally more than a bothersome fact to mortgage borrowers, as they can prevent cash-strapped possible buyers from owning a new house. No-closing-cost loans can be beneficial but come with some negative qualities that have to be understood.
History
As mortgage rates began declining after the worldwide economic slump (mortgage rates of 18 percent) of the early 1980s, lenders engaged in fierce competition to generate new loans. After a couple of trendsetters began offering “no-closing-cost loans,” much of the competition jumped into the fray, designing comparable home mortgage products. Obtaining the most advantage were homeowners considering refinancing to take advantage of dramatic rate declines (from 19% to 11 percent to 9 percent). Rather than attempting to “outsmart” the market by attempting to anticipate future increases, homeowners could take instant benefit of rate declines, realizing they could refinance with no closing costs should rates drop further.
Function
Closing costs are always a negative component of getting a mortgage to buy real estate or refinancing an present loan. For example, homeowners refinancing a current mortgage to lower the monthly or rate payment suffer disappointment when advised it will cost between $3,000 and $5,000 (closing prices ) to accomplish their objective. Choices are limited to paying the fees in cash or having these costs added to their mortgage balance, decreasing their expected deficits in their monthly payment. A no-closing-cost loan eliminates this concern and also the cash drain to the borrower.
Features
Lenders compute “challenging ” closure costs (evaluation, legal, title and recording fees) and “soft” borrower costs (processing, underwriting, warehousing and selling fees) to determine the amount they must pay (hard) and additional income lost (soft). They increase the mortgage rate with a percentage which allows them to recoup these costs in the brief term (making “premiums” compensated by loan buyers), frequently earning much higher income over the long term (if creditor retains the mortgage in its portfolio). Lenders usually offer borrowers with a listing of the final costs to get greatest public relations value from providing this sort of loan.
Caution
No-closing-cost mortgages aren’t an exception to the “little or nothing of value is free” rule. For example, a $100,000 mortgage for 30 years at 5 percent costs around $4,966 in interest for the year. However, the same loan at 5.5 percent requires approximately $5,466 in interest for the first year–an extra $500. If a borrower chooses the half-point-higher rate to escape closure costs the creditor suggests would be $3,000 on a normal loan, after about six years, the no-closing-cost loan might cost significantly more in interest than the normal loan.
Considerations
Borrowers should consider the extra costs or savings of picking a no-closing-cost mortgage. Savings result from the brief term. Therefore, homeowners with company plans to sell or refinance their house in a couple of years might benefit from a no-closing-cost loan because paying a higher rate becomes less important in the brief term. Conversely, homeowners residing in their “dream house,” with no plans to proceed, must evaluate the possible long-term cost versus saving some cash at closing. The high interest rate might force them to pay a whole lot more over the long term.