The Advantages of the 15 Year Fixed Mortgage Rate

There are many advantages to borrowing with a 15 year fixed mortgage rate. Securing a loan with a 15 year fixed mortgage rate is the best option for many borrowers because the amount of interest paid over the term of the loan is about half of that with a 30 year mortgage with the same fixed mortgage rate. Often the 15 year fixed mortgage rate is about a half percentage point lower than that of the 30 year mortgage rate also. The payments will be higher per month with a 15 year mortgage, but the amount of overall interest paid over the life of the loan is much lower.

If you want to know just how much money you will be saving on interest by choosing a loan with a 15 year fixed mortgage rate in comparison to a loan with a 30 year fixed mortgage rate just go online and access a mortgage interest calculator. You will see if you borrow $200,000 at a 15 year fixed mortgage rate of 5.75 percent you will be paying back less than $99,000 in interest, whereby the 30 year loan at 6.25 percent interest will come to about $240,000 paid back in interest. It makes good sense to choose a 15 year fixed mortgage rate over loan with a 30 year fixed rate.

Some borrowers prefer not to do all the work themselves, because finding the lending company with the best 15 year fixed mortgage rate can be a bit time consuming, and they hire a mortgage broker to find them the best rates. Many lending companies have their own mortgage brokers; however if you prefer to use an independent broker, he/she has a large network of lending institutions in which to negotiate with. Whether you use a broker or hunt on your own for the lowest 15 year mortgage rate, it pays to shop around on the internet before you sign on the dotted line.

The payments on a 15 year fixed rate mortgage loan can be a little steep; therefore, it pays to use a mortgage calculator to narrow down just how much house you can afford to buy. The thing to so before you are ready to buy a home is to save. Cut back on expenses and save that money in a separate account that will one day be your down payment. By offering a larger down payment you can often lock into a better interest rate, because the lender wants your business. A 20 percent down payment is a sizable down payment; the lender will use this money to secure the loan to protect them in case you default on the loan, and this keeps you from having to take out extra insurance for that purpose. If your budget can handle the larger monthly payments it will be to your advantage to choose the 15 year fixed mortgage rate loan.