Mortgage lenders are offering a new product to assist home buyers in purchasing a home at an affordable monthly payment -- the 50-year mortgage. A recent report in USA Today, shows that a handful of lenders have started offering 50-year adjustable-rate mortgages to buyers who need to have a low monthly payment. Many banks offer 40-year mortgages, which make up 5% of all home loans in the U.S. "One of the biggest things in California is the high cost of homes. With rates going up, there's demand from customers for longer loans," said Alex Diaz Jr., with Statewide Bancorp in California. Diaz continued to say that Statewide has already received around 220 applications since introducing a 50-year mortgage in March. The 50-year mortgage is an indication that the cooling real estate market is causing more competition between lenders. "Mortgage lenders are getting craftier to get the attention of consumers," Anthony Hsieh of LendingTree told USA Today. Fifty-year mortgages come with some risk attached. A borrower with a longer than average mortgage begins building equity at a slower rate. Because most fifty-year mortgages are adjustable-rate, the low rates could rise given time. Mortgage experts caution that the 50-year mortgage is best-suited for homeowners who plan to sell the home after five years, before the interest rate adjusts. "If you are going to be there for more than five years, you're gambling," said Marc Savitt of the consumer protection committee of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers. "You don't know what interest rates are going to be. I wouldn't do it." |
