Flexible mortgage

Last updated

The term flexible mortgage refers to a residential mortgage loan that offers flexibility in the requirements to make monthly repayments. The flexible mortgage first appeared in Australia in the early 1990s (hence the US term Australian mortgage), however it did not gain popularity until the late 1990s. This technique gained popularity in the US and UK recently due to the United States housing bubble. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

The term mortgage acceleration is also used, as the mortgage loan can be paid off faster than standard mortgages if the borrower is in a position to do so. With traditional mortgages, borrowers often face large penalties for additional capital repayments or if payments were not made on time.

A specific type of flexible mortgage common in Australia and the United Kingdom is an offset mortgage. The key feature of an offset mortgage is the ability to reduce the interest charged by offsetting a credit balance against the mortgage debt, with interest charged based on the outstanding net debt. Some lenders have a single account for all transactions, this is often referred to as a current account mortgage.

Features

Typical features include the facility:

Those features allow a flexible mortgage to be adaptable to individual circumstances. That is especially useful for borrowers who are self-employed and those with a variable income, which is not always fixed. By way of example, borrowers whose income includes a significant but irregular commission component might make use of commission payments to make overpayments, thereby reducing the term or enabling them to underpay at other times.

Offset mortgages

A specific type of flexible mortgage common in Australia and the United Kingdom is an offset mortgage.

The key feature of an offset mortgage is the ability to reduce the interest charged by offsetting a credit balance against the mortgage debt.

For example, if the mortgage balance is $200,000 and the credit balance is $50,000, interest is charged only on the net balance of $150,000. [4] Some lenders have a single account for all transactions, which is often referred to as a current account mortgage.

Lenders normally set a credit limit at outset of the mortgage and allow borrowers to credit and redraw up to this limit. The limit may be periodically reviewed. The lender may place restrictions on the lending limits towards the end of the mortgage term with the aim of ensuring capital repayment. However many lenders allow full drawdown up to the end date of the mortgage, when the loan must be repaid. That can cause great problems for undisciplined borrowers and those approaching retirement if the lender is unwilling to extend the term (especially on the grounds of age).

Other lenders have multiple accounts. There are at least a mortgage account and a deposit account. Often, the lender allows multiple accounts for credit balances and sometimes for debit balances. The different accounts allow borrowers to split their money notionally according to purpose while all accounts are offset each day against the mortgage debt.

Savings versus reduced interest

Offset mortgages are helpful because the interest rates on mortgages are higher than the interest rates of a savings account.

For example, if one has a home loan of $600,000 at 5% per year and an offset account in which one has deposited $200,000, one would be charged interest only on the $400,000 ($600,000 − $200,000). The new interest payable then amounts to $20,000 ($600,000 × 5% - $200,000 × 5% = $400,000 × 5%). Therefore, the interest has been basically reduced by $10,000 (200,000× 5%) in comparison to the original interest, $30,000.

Without an offset account, the $200,000 would be saved in a savings account, which would have an interest rate of 3.5% per year. If the money is in the account for one year, the interest earned would amount to $7,000 ($200,000 × 3.5%).

The former option allows reducing the interest by $10,000, and while the latter gives $7,000. Therefore, putting money in an offset account allows saving more money by reducing interest than any interest earned in your savings account. In some countries like Australia, government bodies like the Australian Taxation Office also tax any interest earned from savings, which reduces savings even more.

Tax advantage

Offset mortgages may have tax advantages for the borrower. Instead of earning interest on the credit balance (which may incur tax), the credit earns a reduction in the mortgage interest paid (which does not). For example, in the UK, offset mortgages are often marketed as offering "tax-efficient" savings. Interest generated within deposit accounts for UK residents is deemed income and is taxable. Subject to the personal savings allowance, the rate is at least 20%. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debt</span> Obligation to pay borrowed money

Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money borrowed or otherwise withheld from another party, the creditor. Debt may be owed by sovereign state or country, local government, company, or an individual. Commercial debt is generally subject to contractual terms regarding the amount and timing of repayments of principal and interest. Loans, bonds, notes, and mortgages are all types of debt. In financial accounting, debt is a type of financial transaction, as distinct from equity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loan</span> Lending of money

In finance, a loan is the transfer of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money.

A reverse mortgage is a mortgage loan, usually secured by a residential property, that enables the borrower to access the unencumbered value of the property. The loans are typically promoted to older homeowners and typically do not require monthly mortgage payments. Borrowers are still responsible for property taxes or homeowner's insurance. Reverse mortgages allow older people to immediately access the home equity they have built up in their homes, and defer payment of the loan until they die, sell, or move out of the home. Because there are no required mortgage payments on a reverse mortgage, the interest is added to the loan balance each month. The rising loan balance can eventually grow to exceed the value of the home, particularly in times of declining home values or if the borrower continues to live in the home for many years. However, the borrower is generally not required to repay any additional loan balance in excess of the value of the home.

Refinancing is the replacement of an existing debt obligation with another debt obligation under a different term and interest rate. The terms and conditions of refinancing may vary widely by country, province, or state, based on several economic factors such as inherent risk, projected risk, political stability of a nation, currency stability, banking regulations, borrower's credit worthiness, and credit rating of a nation. In many industrialized nations, common forms of refinancing include primary residence mortgages and car loans.

An interest-only loan is a loan in which the borrower pays only the interest for some or all of the term, with the principal balance unchanged during the interest-only period. At the end of the interest-only term the borrower must renegotiate another interest-only mortgage, pay the principal, or, if previously agreed, convert the loan to a principal-and-interest payment (amortizing) loan at the borrower's option.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annual percentage rate</span> Interest rate for a whole year

The term annual percentage rate of charge (APR), corresponding sometimes to a nominal APR and sometimes to an effective APR (EAPR), is the interest rate for a whole year (annualized), rather than just a monthly fee/rate, as applied on a loan, mortgage loan, credit card, etc. It is a finance charge expressed as an annual rate. Those terms have formal, legal definitions in some countries or legal jurisdictions, but in the United States:

A home equity line of credit, or HELOC, is a revolving type of secured loan in which the lender agrees to lend a maximum amount within an agreed period, where the collateral is the borrower's property. Because a home often is a consumer's most valuable asset, many homeowners use their HELOC for major purchases or projects, such as home improvements, education, property investment or medical bills, and choose not to use them for day-to-day expenses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mortgage-backed security</span> Type of asset-backed security

A mortgage-backed security (MBS) is a type of asset-backed security which is secured by a mortgage or collection of mortgages. The mortgages are aggregated and sold to a group of individuals that securitizes, or packages, the loans together into a security that investors can buy. Bonds securitizing mortgages are usually treated as a separate class, termed residential; another class is commercial, depending on whether the underlying asset is mortgages owned by borrowers or assets for commercial purposes ranging from office space to multi-dwelling buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second mortgage</span>

Second mortgages, commonly referred to as junior liens, are loans secured by a property in addition to the primary mortgage. Depending on the time at which the second mortgage is originated, the loan can be structured as either a standalone second mortgage or piggyback second mortgage. Whilst a standalone second mortgage is opened subsequent to the primary loan, those with a piggyback loan structure are originated simultaneously with the primary mortgage. With regard to the method in which funds are withdrawn, second mortgages can be arranged as home equity loans or home equity lines of credit. Home equity loans are granted for the full amount at the time of loan origination in contrast to home equity lines of credit which permit the homeowner access to a predetermined amount which is repaid during the repayment period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Credit</span> Financial term for the trust between parties in transactions with a deferred payment

Credit is the trust which allows one party to provide money or resources to another party wherein the second party does not reimburse the first party immediately, but promises either to repay or return those resources at a later date. The resources provided by the first party can be either property, fulfillment of promises, or performances. In other words, credit is a method of making reciprocity formal, legally enforceable, and extensible to a large group of unrelated people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commercial mortgage</span> Mortgage loan secured by commercial property

A commercial mortgage is a mortgage loan secured by commercial property, such as an office building, shopping center, industrial warehouse, or apartment complex. The proceeds from a commercial mortgage are typically used to acquire, refinance, or redevelop commercial property.

This article gives descriptions of mortgage terminology in the United Kingdom.

A loan guarantee, in finance, is a promise by one party to assume the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. A guarantee can be limited or unlimited, making the guarantor liable for only a portion or all of the debt.

Cash out refinancing occurs when a loan is taken out on property already owned, and the loan amount is above and beyond the cost of transaction, payoff of existing liens, and related expenses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mortgage loan</span> Loan secured using real estate

A mortgage loan or simply mortgage, in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any purpose while putting a lien on the property being mortgaged. The loan is "secured" on the borrower's property through a process known as mortgage origination. This means that a legal mechanism is put into place which allows the lender to take possession and sell the secured property to pay off the loan in the event the borrower defaults on the loan or otherwise fails to abide by its terms. The word mortgage is derived from a Law French term used in Britain in the Middle Ages meaning "death pledge" and refers to the pledge ending (dying) when either the obligation is fulfilled or the property is taken through foreclosure. A mortgage can also be described as "a borrower giving consideration in the form of a collateral for a benefit (loan)".

An offset loan is a type of lending arrangement, usually for a mortgage, in which a borrower also maintains a savings account with the lender. Instead of receiving interest on the savings account, the interest payment due on the loan is calculated only on the net balance of the loan minus the savings account. The regular payment is calculated on the full amount of the loan, however, and so making regular payments pays off the loan faster than a standard loan with the same interest rate, amount, and periodic payment.

Mortgage underwriting is the process a lender uses to determine if the risk of offering a mortgage loan to a particular borrower under certain parameters is acceptable. Most of the risks and terms that underwriters consider fall under the three C's of underwriting: credit, capacity and collateral.

Mortgage acceleration is the practice of paying off a mortgage loan faster than required by terms of the mortgage agreement. As interest on mortgages is compounded, early payments diminish the period needed to pay off the mortgage, and avoid a quotient of compounded interest.

Forbearance, in the context of a mortgage process, is a special agreement between the lender and the borrower to delay a foreclosure. The literal meaning of forbearance is "holding back". This is also referred to as mortgage moratorium.

The mortgage industry of the United Kingdom has traditionally been dominated by building societies, the first of which opened in Birmingham in 1775. But since the 1970s, the share of new mortgage loans market held by building societies has declined substantially. Between 1977 and 1987, the share fell drastically from 96% to 66%, and that of banks and other institutions rose from 3% to 36%. The major lenders include building societies, banks, specialized mortgage corporations, insurance companies and pension funds. During the four years after the financial crisis of 2008, the UK mutual sector provided approximately 80% of net lending to the housing market. There are currently over 200 significant separate financial organizations supplying mortgage loans to house buyers in Britain, with Lloyds Bank and the Nationwide Building Society having the largest market share.

References

  1. "Mortgage Calculator".
  2. "Is now the time to buy property? | Moneywise". www.moneywise.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2009-06-12.
  3. "Money for beginners: Pay off your expensive debts first". 26 June 2009.
  4. Confused.com, Are Offset Mortgages worthwhile?
  5. direct.gov.uk, Tax on bank and building society accounts