Home loan rates

Mortgage terms : Closed mortgage – A mortgage that cannot be repaid or prepaid, renegotiated or refinanced prior to maturity, unless stated in the agreed upon terms. Closing costs – Costs that are in addition to the purchase price of a property and which must be paid on the closing date. Examples include legal fees, land transfer taxes, and disbursements. Debt service ratio – The percentage of the borrower’s income used for monthly payments of principal, interest, taxes, heating costs, condo fees (if applicable) and debts. GDS is gross debt service – how much you spend on Principal, Interest, Taxes and Heating. TDS is total debt service – GDS plus all other debt payment obligations. Default – A homeowner is ‘in default’ when he or she breaks the terms of a mortgage agreement, usually by not making required mortgage payments or by not making payments on time. Down payment – The money that you pay up-front for a house. Down payments typically range from 5%-20% of the total value of the home, but can be anything above 5%, if you qualify. Early Discharge Penalty – A penalty you may pay your lending institution for breaking the mortgage contract early. This is usually 3 months interest or the Interest Rate Differential (IRD), whichever is larger. See below for IRD.

Being careful with your money is extremely important. Here are some advices regarding financial terms. Prepaid cards require the cardholder to load money onto the card before the card can be used. Purchases are withdrawn from the card’s balance. The spending limit does not renew until more money is loaded onto the card. Prepaid cards do not have finance charges or minimum payments because the balance is withdrawn from the deposit you’ve made. These cards are not actually credit cards, and they don’t directly help you rebuild your credit score. Prepaid cards are similar to debit cards, but are not tied to a checking account. A lot of people use them as a way to stay within budget.

Payday Loan Interest: Payday lenders charge borrowers extremely high levels of interest that can range up to 500% in annual percentage yield (APR). Most states have usury laws that limit interest charges to less than approximately 35%; however, payday lenders fall under exemptions that allow for their high interest. Since these loans qualify for many state lending loopholes, borrowers should beware. Regulations on these loans are governed by the individual states, with some states even outlawing payday loans of any kind. In California, for example, a payday lender can charge a 14-day APR of 459% for a $100 loan. Finance charges on these loans are also a significant factor for borrowers as the fees can range up to approximately $18 per $100 of loan. More financial calculators at Mortgage rates today.

Terms: Asset: An item of a tangible or intangible nature that has value or benefit, such as the capacity to generate revenue or interest. An example of a tangible asset is real estate and an intangible asset is a business brand name.

Balance transfer: The movement of the amount owing from one account to another account. A credit card balance transfer, for example, involves the movement of the amount owed on one or more credit cards to another account or institution, usually for the purposes of consolidating debt and/or taking advantage of better interest rates and/or payment terms. More financial info on Mortgage companies.

Cash on Hand, Money in the Bank: Another thing most news reports look at is how companies manage their money – specifically, how much they have in free cash flow, total debt, and what assets they have available in cash equivalents, such as short-term government bonds that they can sell to settle debts. In Hemlock Inc.’s announcement, free cash flow is increasing, meaning that after all expenses have been laid out in order to maintain the business’ continuing operations, the amount of cash it has on hand is growing. On Hemlock’s balance sheet, the company shows cash and cash equivalents of $128 million, which can be converted into cash if required, especially in the event that their total debt increases and/or income takes a hit.

Interest Rate Differential – A way lenders calculate the penalty for discharging a mortgage before the end of a closed mortgage contract. The difference between the interest that the financial institution will make if you continued your mortgage to the end of the contract and what they will make by loaning it to someone else at the current interest rate. More on Home equity line of credit. Equity – The difference between the market value of a property and the amount owed on the property. This difference is the amount a homeowner actually owns outright.