Delaying usual cost you more

Two things can happen when the mortgage rates go up before you've found a home or locked-in your mortgage.  You'll either pay the current mortgage rate which means a higher payment, or you'll have to increase your down payment to keep the monthly payment at the same level.

If the rate were to go up by ½%, the payment on a $275,000 mortgage would increase by $82.87 per month for the entire 30-year term.  That would increase the cost of the home by $29,835.

Some people are purchasing the maximum home that they can qualify for.  In that case, they cannot qualify for a higher payment and the only way to buy the same price home is to put more money down which may not be a possibility.  The other alternative is to buy a lower price home which may not be in the same area or size which will involve some compromises.

The rate is not the only dynamic that affects buyers waiting to purchase.  The home they want could sell to someone else.  Prices could increase as new homes come on the market.  The question that many buyers ask themselves when they become a victim of the consequences of delay is "What could we have spent the money on if we didn't have to make a higher payment?"

Mortgage rates are very attractive currently and within ½% of the all time low of 3.35% in December 2012.  The highest rate was 18.45% in October 1981.  Whether you're purchasing or refinancing, it may not be this low again.

To see how it will affect the payment, plug your numbers into this Cost of Waiting to Buy calculator or call me at (785) 650-4370 and I'll help you with it.

    

Building Equity

Owning a home is the first step to building equity.  Tenants build equity but not for themselves; they build it for the owners.

Equity is the difference in the value of the home and what is owed on the home.  There are two dynamics that cause this to grow: appreciation and principal reduction.

As the home increases in value, it is said to appreciate.  Various authorities will annualize an appreciation rate based on average sales prices from one year to the next.  Since appreciation is based on supply and demand as well as economic conditions, it will not be the same year after year.  

If you looked at a ten to twelve-year period, some would be higher than others and there may even be some individual years that it is flat or even declined.  For the most part, values tend to appreciate over time.

Most mortgages are amortized which means that a portion of the payment each month is applied to the principal in order to pay off the loan by the end of the term.  A $300,000 mortgage at 4.5% for 30 years has $395.06 applied to the principal with the first payment.  A slightly larger amount is applied to the principal each following month until the loan is paid with the 360^th payment.

If additional principal payments are made, it will save interest, build equity faster and shorten the term of the mortgage.  Using the previous example, if an additional $250.00 principal contribution was made with each payment, it would only take 270 payments to retire the loan instead of 360.  It would save $69,305 in interest and shorten the mortgage by 7.5 years. 

To see the dynamics of equity due to appreciation and principal reduction, look at the Rent vs. Own.  To see the effect of making additional principal contributions on your equity, look at the Equity Accelerator.