Reasons for Home Ownership

Owning a home is an American dream that millions achieve each and every year. When owning your own home, you can increase your degree of ownership with every mortgage payment because some of your payment goes towards principal, paying down the money you borrowed. This process is referred to as "building up equity" and if the equity in your home grows greater than 20%, you may be able to borrow against your equity, should the need arise.

You can borrow money to pay for a major purchase in the future, pay down credit cards, or for any other reason. Of course, it's always wise to be prudent with money and the same holds true with the equity in your home. Millions of people elect not to tap the equity in their home and some see investing in their home as another way of saving for retirement.

Another benefit of owning a home is tax relief. If you are paying down a mortgage on your home, you can deduct your mortgage interest and property taxes. Taking these deductions lowers your overall tax bill and may even result in a refund. A recent tax law change capped the amount of "SALT" (state and local taxes) you can deduct to $10,000.

Loan Type

Purchase Refinance with Cash out Refinance

State

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District Of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

FICO Score

Superior (780-850) Exceptional (760-779) Excellent (740-759) Very Good (720-739) Good (700-719) Above Average (680-699) Average (660-679) Fair (640-659) Need Improvement (620-639) Poor (350-620)

Loan Amount

$

Points

Up to 0 points Up to 0.5 points Up to 1 points Up to 1.5 points Up to 2 points Up to 2.5 points Up to 3 points

LTV

%

Loan Term

 15-Year Fixed  20-Year Fixed  30-Year Fixed  5-Year ARM  7-Year ARM  10-Year ARM

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The lenders whose rates and other terms appear on this chart are MRC's advertising partners. They provide their rate information to our data partner RateUpdate.com. Unless adjusted by the consumer, advertisers are sorted by APR from lowest to highest. For any advertising partners that do not provide their rate they are listed in advertisement display units at the bottom of the chart. Advertising partners may not pay to improve the frequency priority or prominence of their display. The interest rates, annual percentage rates and other terms advertised here are estimates provided by those advertising partners based on the information you entered above and do not bind. Any lender Monthly payment amounts stated do not include amounts for taxes and insurance premiums. The actual payment obligation will be greater if taxes and insurance are included. Although our data partner RateUpdate.com collects the information from the financial institutions themselves, the accuracy of the data cannot be guaranteed. Rates may change without notice and can change intraday. Some of the information contained in the rate tables including but not limited to special marketing notes is provided directly by the lenders. Please verify the rates and offers before applying for a loan with the financial institution themselves. No rate is binding until locked by a lender.

Lender

APR / Rate

Fees / Points

Payment

NMLS #757416

4.894%

15-Year Fixed

4.750%

$3,836

Includes 0.959 points for $3,836

Lender Fees: $0

$3,112 /mo

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NMLS #6606

5.260%

15-Year Fixed

5.125%

$3,548

Includes 0.887 points for $3,548

Lender Fees: $0

$3,190 /mo

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NMLS #757416

5.687%

30-Year Fixed

5.625%

$2,744

Includes 0.686 points for $2,744

Lender Fees: $0

$2,303 /mo

Next >

NMLS #6606

5.958%

30-Year Fixed

5.875%

$3,592

Includes 0.898 points for $3,592

Lender Fees: $0

$2,367 /mo

Next >

Rate data provided by RateUpdate.com. Displayed by Mortgage Research Center, NMLS #1907, Equal Housing Opportunity. Payments do not include taxes and insurance premiums. Actual payments will be greater with taxes and insurance included. Rate and product details.

Note: Always consult your accountant for any tax advice.

Current mortgage rates are near historical lows and are another reason to purchase a home now. The amount of money you finance with your mortgage costs you less because mortgage rates are low. These low mortgage rates also allow you to borrow more money, which can mean buying a larger home or a home in an area you thought might be out of your range.

Owning a home also gives you greater flexibility to improve your home and make changes that will improve the value of your home. As a renter, any improvements you make, if you're even allowed to make improvements, will only benefit the landlord and their property. When you own your own home, you don’t have to worry about your lease ending, the landlord increasing your rent, or them deciding to sell and forcing you to move.

If you purchase a home with a fixed mortgage rate, your combined principal and interest payments will remain the same for the life of the loan. Please note, if you have your property taxes and insurance payments escrowed, bundled into your mortgage payment, your overall payment can increase as property taxes and/or insurance costs increase.

The first step towards homeownership is finding out how much you are comfortable spending. You can figure this out on your own but an easier way is to work with a mortgage broker. You can also "pre-qualify" for a home loan, which shows realtors and sellers that you're a serious buyer. You can start this process by finding a lender with a great mortgage rate at MonitorBankRates.com.