Zero Point Loans -- "The Pros and Cons" by Wayne Repich One of the most confusing areas for consumers in a mortgage loan transaction are 'points'. In this article, I'll explain the correlation of points and interest rates and the advantages and disadvantages of zero point loans. A 'point' is equal to a percent of the loan amount; one point on a $200,000 loan equals one percent of $200,000, or $2,000. Points are a term used for the loan origination fee. A simple rule to remember is that the higher the points, the lower the rate. For example, this loan may have the mortgage calculator mortgage calculator following point and rate combinations: Combination A Combination B Interest Rate: 7.50% Interest Rate: 7.00% Points: 0 Points: 2 In this example, the 2 points or $4,000 is used to reduce the rate of 7.50% by one-half of one percent. 'Points' can also be called "yield equivilant fees". Does it make sense to pay points? The simple answer is ... it depends. There are many factors to consider and one of the primary items to review is the overall long term cost of a zero-point loan versus a loan with points. One easy way to determine the value of the 2 point loan is to determine how many months compare mortgage rates mortgage calculator (or payments) it will take to recoup the original 2 points. To do that, divide the cost of the points ($4,000) by the difference in the payment ($67.83) to arrive at the number of months it will take for the points to pay for themselves. In this example, it would take 58.97 months to recover the initial cost of the points. Let's look at our two combinations and see how they perform over 7 years: Considerations Combination A Combination B Principal & Interest $1,398.43 $1,330.60 Total Payments $117,468.12 $111,770.40 Principal Paid $16,332.00 $17,704.65 Interest Paid $101,136.12 $94,065.75 Principal Balance $183,669.00 $182,295.35 Net Difference $0.00 ($3,070.43) The net difference is calculated by adding the difference of the principal balances ($1,372.65) to the number of credit card companies mortgage calculator months after the break-even point (84 months minus 58.97 = 25.03) times the difference in payments ($67.83 or $1,697.78). In this example, Combination B would outperform Combination A by $3,070.43. The above equation is a simple approach to compare the difference between a 0 cost loan and loan with points. However, there can be other considerations. For instance, some consumers may try to calculate tax implications of the different amount of points and interest paid and the subsequent tax deductions. Other borrowers may consider the present 'value' of the dollar versus the future 'value', the loss of opportunity of being able to nursing grants and loans mortgage calculator invest the $4,000