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Currently on the market, there are many varieties of mortgage loans available. Sometimes it can be difficult to tell which mortgage loan is suitable and applicable to you.

I will discuss the 3 main types of mortgage loans on the market. Most banks and lenders offer mortgage loans that belong to one of these categories.

1. Fixed Mortgage Loan

Fixed mortgage loans are the most popular and common among the three types of mortgage loan.

You take out a mortgage loan with a lender and you pay a certain repayment amount for a fixed period of time. Most people usually choose 30 year fixed mortgage loans as the monthly repayment amounts are low and the interest rates usually evens out in a 30 year period.

One disadvantage of 30 year fixed mortgage loan is you have to repay more for your mortgage loan in total compared to someone who takes up a 15 or 5 year loan.

There are also shorter time periods such as 5 year, 10 or 15 years fixed mortgage loans. It allows people who want to pay off their house in a shorter period of time. Of course, you have to make sure you have the financial capability to repay higher monthly repayments.

There is also another sub-category of mortgage loan called adjustable rate mortgage loan or ARM. Usually, you will start off with a lower interest rate compared to a 30 year fixed mortgage loan. So you ended up paying less each month for your mortgage repayment.

However take note that ARM is highly fluctuating depending on interest rates. In other words, you pay less for monthly repayment when interest is low and pay more when interest rates is high.

2. Convertible Loans

Convertible loans are becoming more popular as it allows people to keep their mortgage loan options open allowing for more flexibility.

If you find interest rates are too high, you can convert to a fixed rate mortgage loan. If interest rates are low, you can also convert to ARM based mortgage loans.

There are too many varieties of convertible loans under this category. However I list one type of convertible loans I dealt with.

Balloon Loan

A balloon loan is a fixed rate convertible loan. Usually, you start off by repaying small monthly repayments for a period of years, usually 5 or 7 years. At the end of that period, you will need to repay the loan in one lump sum.

So whats the advantage of a balloon loan? It is mostly used by investors or property dealers who are looking to sell the house in a short period of time. They can take advantage of low interest rates without locking their money on a house. Since they will have a large sum of money when they sell the house, it will not be a problem to return the lump sum.

3. Special mortgage loans

These are mortgage loans that are only being offered to a group of people. For example the FHA mortgage loans are only available for first time home buyers or people with bad credit.

Another one is the veteran affairs mortgage loan. They are only offered to widows of the US armed forces.

The best way to know whether you qualify or is suitable for a mortgage loan is to speak to a professional mortgage consultant before you decide to take up any mortgage offer

Mortgage loan is the money that the lender gives to the borrower; sometimes these loans need a guarantee. A mortgage is what one gets as a certification once the asset is used as a pledge for security. There were times when availing mortgage loan was very difficult but with the growing competition it has become very simple to get mortgage loan. The loan amount can be used for various purposes such as purchasing a property, wedding, vacation, medical purposes etc.

As a security is attached with the loan therefore the loan amount is very high. Every individual has his own requirement as a result one should choose the right kind of loan that would solve his purpose. In mortgage loan the time of repayment is very long it may extend unto 25 years or more. Since the repayment tenure is so long therefore the monthly installment that the borrower has to pay is not much and does not disturb his monthly finances.

Mortgage loan can be generally divided into two types:

1. Fixed rate mortgage loan
2. Adjustable rate mortgage loan

In case of fixed rate mortgage loan the interest rate remains the same throughout the tenure of the loan. In this kind of loan the borrower is more relaxed because he knows the amount that he has to pay every month and accordingly plans his budget. Therefore the borrower will not be affected by the change in the interest rates as his mortgage amount will not change.

In adjustable rate mortgage loan or variable rate mortgage loan the interest rate is adjusted from time to time based on an index. By taking this kind of mortgage loan the borrower can lower his payments as he is ready to take the risk of change in the interest rates.

Apart from these two there are various kinds of mortgage loan such as interest only mortgage loan, graduated payment mortgage loan, negative amortization mortgage loan, conventional loan, extendible balloons and many more. It is for the borrower to decide on the kind of loan that would fulfill his requisite.

Mortgage loan is a kind of loan that would continue for years, therefore the borrower would want the best and the most reasonable rate as he has to pay the interest for many years. There are certain things that affect the mortgage loan interest rate such as loan amount, loan tenure, down payment, income of the borrower, whether or not the loan is adjustable etc.

There are certain points that the borrower must keep in mind before availing mortgage loan.

Firstly, the borrower should decide on the loan amount after assessing his income and the pay back capacity so that the loan does not hamper his budget.

Secondly, one should do complete market study before availing mortgage loan, and then choose the best deal as per his need.

Thirdly, mortgage loans are of various kinds, so the borrower should decide on the type of mortgage loan according to his constraint.

Fourthly, the borrower must have a clear idea about the rate of interest, the monthly installment that he has to pay, the terms and conditions and the tenure of the loan. One should calculate the interest rate and the monthly installments beforehand so that he does not end up paying more to the lender.

Fifthly, the borrower must check the means and standing of the mortgage loan lender.