Many couples buying a home are face with the question of whether to opt for a 15 or 30 year fixed mortgage rate. Early completion of a mortgage is important for those of us that leave buying a home until later in life. In a situation as important as this, time needs to be spent considering all the available options. One point to remember is ensuring that your monthly mortgage repayment remains the same throughout the entire period of the loan.
It is always wise to avoid agreements that do not appear to have any negative aspects because they invariably have but are hidden. A 15 year fixed rate mortgage means the interest rate remains stable for the life of the loan. If you are someone that wants a loan with a regular fixed repayment and no additional charges then this is the main benefit with this type of agreement. When my wife and I were looking at homes for sale we decided to check out the various loans available with 15 year fixed mortgage rates.
The plan was to pay off the house as soon as possible but we did not want to be burdened with high monthly payments. When we considered fixed rate mortgages we also looked into even longer term loans that spanned 30 years as well. The 15 year fixed mortgage rate was the plan we really wanted because neither of us wanted to be still paying a mortgage when we close to retiring. We felt that there was a great deal of emphasis on paying the mortgage off early.
Eventually we decided on a 30 year loan after looking at all the other possibilities. There were many things that lead us into making this choice.Discovering my wife was having a baby was the most important reason. The contribution my wife made to the monthly finances would be unreliable since she intended to raise our child at home.
The problem we could see was the increased financial commitment on a monthly basis if we had opted for the 15 year fixed mortgage rate. We knew that it just was not an option and the risk was too great. The 30 year loan repayments were considerably lower than the 15 year figures.
Being able to make additional lump sum payments during the year means the outstanding loan reduces faster. We also found that we were reducing the number of years left on the mortgage by making these payments. This may be difficult but well worth the effort in the a few years down the line. Our desire for a 15 year fixed rate mortgage was second place to our more immediate needs. Things worked out well anyway, even though we were unsure about it to start with.