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All About Home Loan Points

By Ethan Hunter | May 17, 2008

by Ethan Hunter

Most people have no clue what home loan points are. In fact, even current homeowners find themselves stumped by this term. However, as you will discover in this article, home loan points can actually be highly beneficial to you, allowing you to pay less money each month on your mortgage.

Okay, we will discuss what home loan points are, as well as the many advantages they offer specifically to someone wanting to buy a home.

Home Loan Points 101

The basics are not hard to understand if you are a fast learner. Home loan points are something that you buy so that you will get a lower interest rate on your mortgage.

In other words, look at home loan points as being equal to 1% of your mortgage loan. Therefore, if you were going to take out a mortgage loan of $200,000, you would have $2,000 in points. Often, home loan points can also be purchased, which help by reducing your current interest rate.

But you may not know if home loan points are really worth it. Do they make a bigger difference and why are they even there?

This is something important to understand, which we have addressed for you.

Are home loan points really worth the time?

In other words, you might want to know if you can afford spending more money for the points and if you do, will you expect to get something out of it in the end and without a lot of hassle.

The answer to this is that it depends on your situation. In addition, the answer would be based on the type of mortgage loan, as well as the bank or lending institution being used. More importantly, you need to determine if you have extra funds to buy points and if so, what would the overall savings be.

For instance, if you find that your monthly mortgage payment will go down by as much as $50 and you have some extra money available to buy points, then home loan points could be highly beneficial. In this case, while there is a little money upfront, the long-term savings are tremendous.

Why Are Home Loan Points There At All?

Not only are home loan points here to help you pay for a better long term loan, but they’re there to let you have the choice. You can pay more now, and get a lower interest rate, but if you don’t have the money, that’s okay, too - you still get a decent loan.

You will benefit and the loan company will to because they are getting more money up front and that is important to them. Loan companies will leave home loan points as just an option.

Bottom Line…

In most cases, home loan points can be highly beneficial but they are not required. Choosing to buy these points will depend on a number of factors to include your situation and personal preference, as well as how much extra money you have with which to work.

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Topics: Loans |

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