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Lighthouse Real Estate, LLC
13 Bridgeville Rd.
P.O. Box 146
Georgetown, DE 19947
(302) 725-0598 Office
(302) 725-0691 Fax
(302) 236-9246 Cell
Mortgage Information
What is a Mortgage?
According to Webster's, a mortgage is "the pledging of property to a creditor as security for the payment of a debt." In plain terms, it is the legal contract that says if you don't pay the loan back (along with all of the fees and interest that are included with it), then the lender can have your house.
The lender holds the title to your house until the debt is completely paid off, and the lender will sell your house in order to get the money back if you can't make your mortgage payments.
Your down payment is the lump sum you pay upfront that reduces the amount of money you have to finance. You can put as much money down as you want, or you can sometimes pay as little as 3-5% of the purchase price. The more money you put down, though, the less you have to finance and the lower your monthly payment will be.
A mortgage represents a loan or lien on a property/house that has to be paid over a specified period of time. Think of it as your personal guarantee that you'll repay the money you've borrowed to buy your home. Mortgages come in many different shapes and sizes, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Make sure you select the mortgage that is right for you, your future plans, and your financial picture.
What is an amortization schedule?
The month-by-month allocation of your monthly payment to the loan's interest and principal is called an amortization schedule. With most loans you pay off the interest on the loan before you pay off the principal (or the actual amount you borrowed). Your lender will provide an amortization schedule to show you how the percentage of your principal paid off increases with every payment, while the percentage of interest decreases.
Once you know how much money you can borrow and have an estimate of your closing costs, you'll know the price range you can afford. You might already have your "dream home" in mind. Perhaps you want to settle down in a particular neighborhood, or maybe you just need more space for your growing family.
Even if you know exactly what you're looking for, the house hunting process can be overwhelming. It takes time.
Lighthouse Real Estate, LLC provides national mortgage information, an RSS feed updated daily on the right hand side of this page.