Real Estate Community Forum

I was approved for a home mortgage for a $55,000 dollar mortgage on a house. With a 30 year mortgage, I would have to put 3% down and pay almost $2,700 of the closing costs. This would make my monthly payments $330.50 with an interest rate of 6.25%.

I was also offered a 15 year mortgage rate at 6.5% with 3% down and $2,700 closing cost. The 15 year monthly payments would be $468.50 per month.

I would like to try and commit to the 15 year mortgage, but I'm scared that my expenses may change over time and I will not be able to pay it. So is it possible to change your desired mortgage payments from 15 to 30 years over time? Or am I better off going with a 30 year mortgage, just to be safe?

I can understand your desire to pay off a mortgage as soon as possible, but you never know what the future holds for you. Sometimes there are surprise expenses that demand attention such as a new roof or furnace, which can make it difficult to pay for your monthly bills such as a mortgage. My solution would be to accept the 30 year mortgage. We all know that a lot can happen in 30 years. A 30 year mortgage will protect you in case something happens in the future. In fact, you may want to put extra money on the mortgage without being tied to a 15 year mortgage. This gives you the freedom to pay what you can afford during that time.

I am inclined to agree with Steve on this one. The only issue comes down to what you would be more comfortable with. Some mortgages have prepayment penalties and the like. If you decide to go the 30 year route be sure to understand how much more you could pay toward principal every year.

In addition, I found this link below to help you with your analysis.

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/calsystem2/ ... fault.aspx

Alot depends upon your current financial situation and your career path. You are only looking at approximately $35.00 more per week however you may feel more secure knowing that money is available to you.

Hope this helps and good luck.

I also suggest taking out the 30 year mortgage. Currently I have a student loan and I am scheduled to make monthly payments for 20 years. Of course, making those monthly payment over 20 years can be very costly so I make a conscious effort to pay extra on the monthly balance. Sometimes I'll put an extra $50 dollars and other times I'll put in $30. However, there are times such as during the holidays or when a surprise expense pops up such as a car repair bill that causes me to pay the min balance on my student loan. The same theory can be applied to your house mortgage.