Weird Mortgages You Might Consider

Weird Mortgages You Might Consider, More homeowners are taking out unusual loans that run anywhere from five to 29 years. Why you should think about a weird mortgage, Today’s record-low interest rates have lots of homeowners debating whether to refinance into 15- or 30-year mortgages, but few realize lenders offer products with all sorts of repayment periods — from five-year “balloon” mortgages to 29-year loans.

“They’re not standard offerings, but they are widely available in the marketplace — particularly for consumers who are willing to shop around,” says Greg McBride of market tracker Bankrate.com.

Fifteen- and 30-year mortgages do make up the bulk of the market, but the Mortgage Bankers Association says some 15% of consumers who refinanced in May chose nonstandard products — generally 10- or 20-year loans. About 2% of May homebuyers also chose such loans for purchase mortgages.

Quicken Loans offers one of the best-known home loans with nonstandard repayment terms — a heavily advertised product called the “Yourgage.”

The Yourgage lets consumers choose anything from eight-year loans to 29-year ones.

“It wasn’t that clients were calling us and saying, ‘Hey, can you do a 26-year loan?’” Quicken Loans’ Bob Walters says. “But we found a lot of people who’d say: ‘I got a 5% mortgage rate three years ago and I’d love to refinance to 4.25%, but I don’t want to add a new three years to my loan.”

Walters says eight-year mortgages are the most popular choice among Yourgage customers, with 29-year loans coming in second.