According to the 2009 survey of California homebuyers (by the California Association of Realtors), a full 32% of people buying homes in traditional (non-foreclosure) sales "either did not know or were not sure they knew
the terms of their loan."
Yikes! Isn't this how we got into a lot of mortgage trouble in the first place? If there's any cause for hope, I suppose it's that most of these (88%) were fixed-rate mortgages, which are inherently more predictable than the other varieties that were so prevalent a few years ago. No big surprises or balloon payments in store. Nationwide, the trend is toward more use of fixed-rate mortgages.
Still, I would recommend scanning the fine print on your mortgage at least once -- especially if there's a chance you want to sell or refinance within the next few years, in which case you need to watch out for any prepayment penalties.
Yikes! Isn't this how we got into a lot of mortgage trouble in the first place? If there's any cause for hope, I suppose it's that most of these (88%) were fixed-rate mortgages, which are inherently more predictable than the other varieties that were so prevalent a few years ago. No big surprises or balloon payments in store. Nationwide, the trend is toward more use of fixed-rate mortgages.
Still, I would recommend scanning the fine print on your mortgage at least once -- especially if there's a chance you want to sell or refinance within the next few years, in which case you need to watch out for any prepayment penalties.
