Author: Peter Gomes

Buying a home is indeed an exciting experience. It doesn’t matter whether or not you’re buying a home for the first time; you should know certain things before you take out a mortgage.  A mortgage can be defined as pledging a property to the lender, wherein the property serves as the security for the loan.  In other words, your home serves as the security for the loan amount you borrow in order to purchase your new home.

Parties involved in a mortgage deal

Two types of parties are usually involved in a mortgage transaction; namely, the lender or mortgagee, who offers the loan amount and the borrower or mortgagor, who borrows the money.  Your mortgagees can be financial institutions (such as, banks, mortgage companies or credit unions) or portfolio lenders and private mortgage lenders.

Components of a mortgage payment

4 components of a mortgage payment are discussed below:

1. Principal: It refers to the balance amount after you have made your down payment. In other words, principal is the amount that you actually borrow from your lender.
2. Interest: It is the amount that your lender charges for offering you the loan. It is actually a percentage of the total amount you actually borrow.
3. Tax: You need to pay a certain amount of real estate tax, which is often paid as a part of monthly mortgage payments. It varies from one area to another.
4. Insurance: There are various insurances that you need to purchase when you take out a mortgage. The insurance policies provide coverage against financial losses caused by natural disasters, theft, fire, etc.

The above factors are commonly referred to as PITI.  Apart from these, your mortgage payments also consist of closing costs that you need to pay while taking out a mortgage loan.

If you wish, you can contact a mortgage broker, who acts as an intermediary between a borrower and a lender.  However, mortgage brokers do not offer home loans.  They only help you to get the best suitable mortgage.