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If you are looking for a home but you know that paying a mortgage will be a severe drain on your finances, then perhaps you should look at getting an interest only mortgage. If you are unsure about what an interest only mortgage is and how it can help you, then this article can provide you with some useful tips on getting an interest only mortgage.

What is an interest only mortgage?

An interest only mortgage is a mortgage where you only pay back the interest on the loan, and none of the capital debt is repaid directly. Once you get to the end of the mortgage term, you will pay back the capital payment in full.

How do you pay back the capital?

Although you dont pay the capital back directly through your monthly mortgage payments, you indirectly pay for the capital. You pay for the capital through an investment fund or other lump sum. So, instead of repaying your mortgage capital each month through mortgage payments, you may monthly payments into an investment fund. Apart from investment funds, the other main ways to pay off the capital are:

Savings
Switching to a repayment mortgage
Another lump sum such as inheritance

What is the advantage of this?

Although you are still making monthly payments into an investment fund, these payments are likely to be a lot lower than the monthly mortgage payments you would pay on a normal repayment mortgage. Your interest only payments will be low each month and so if you cannot afford to pay a lot each month at the moment, an interest only mortgage might be a good idea. Also, the idea is that the money you put into the investment fund will mature and leave you with enough money to pay off the capital at the end of the mortgage term as well as leaving you with some extra money.

Are there risks?

Of course, there are a number of potential risks of getting an interest only mortgage. The first problem is that if you are hoping to pay off the capital by switching to a repayment mortgage later on, you will be paying back a lot more money than if you started on a repayment mortgage. Although you may find it hard right now, getting a repayment mortgage to start with might be a better option. However, the main risk involved with interest only mortgages is that the investment fund you set up will not be enough to pay back the capital at the end of the mortgage term. If you cannot pay back the capital then you could end up losing your home at a time in your life that it will hit you hardest, such as at retirement age.

If you are going to take out an interest only mortgage, make sure that the funding method you use is safe, and that you have contingency plans if the fund is insufficient to pay back the capital. If you do this, then getting an interest only mortgage can be a great way of keeping your payments low whilst you improve your income.

An annual bonus can be a wonderful windfall at the end of the year to do with as you please. It could go into savings, a special purchase, paying down your credit cards or into your house as a prepayment on your loan. When your mortgage is calculated, either fixed or adjusted, you are told how much to pay on a monthly basis.

However, a mortgage calculator that specializes in additional payments will show it can be very much in your favor to consider this using your bonus as an additional annual payment

And you thought you were through with a mortgage calculator after you signed the papers on your house.

The monthly payment your mortgage lender requires is the least amount you must pay in order to keep current on your mortgage. It doesn’t mean that you can’t pay more! If you have an annual bonus which comes in every year, then it is definitely worth investing this by paying an additional annual payment against the principal outstanding on your mortgage.

Use a mortgage calculator to work out how much difference your annual bonus makes to your mortgage. Depending on the size of the annual bonus, and how much of it you want to use against your mortgage principal, you can save money in terms of interest you won’t need to pay. This reduction shows up because you are paying the loan off faster that your mortgage. The less time you owe, the less interest you pay.

This is the “miracle of compound interest” your bank loves working against him. When you pay ahead on the principal, you reduce the amount of interest you pay on the interest. Poor him, lucky you. Your mortgage calculator reveals the way to make it work for, not against you.

Another option you need to consider, however, is whether or not investing the money in another way would be more beneficial. It might work to your advantage to build up a larger amount and pay in that lump sum, say every 5 years, for example.

Using the current rate of interest offered for an investment account that can be opened with the amount of your annual bonus, work out how much in total you would have at the end of 5 years. Then pull up the additional payment mortgage calculator to work out what difference it would make to your loan.

The investment account pays you interest, and so you will have extra money to pay against your principal. In the second part of this scenario: use the mortgage calculator to calculate the mortgage if you paid the bonus directly against the principal balance on your mortgage each year for 5 years.

Which of the two totals works best for you financially? If it looks too good to be true, change mortgage calculators and double check. Which of them gives you a lower balance and lower mortgage term? This is the option that most effectively puts your money to work.

An additional payment against your mortgage principal is an ideal way of investing your extra capital in your home. Use the mortgage calculator first however to determine whether this, or an investment account, is the most efficient use of your money.