General Financing: The Basics?
1. WHAT IS A MORTGAGE? Generally speaking, a mortgage is a loan obtained to purchase real estate. The “mortgage” itself is a legal claim on the home or property that secures the promise to pay the debt. All mortgages have two features in common: principal and interest. 2. WHAT IS A LOAN-TO-VALUE (LTV) RATIO? HOW DOES IT DETERMINE THE SIZE OF THE LOAN? The loan to value ratio is the amount of money you borrow compared with the price or appraised value of the home you are purchasing. Each loan has a specific LTV limit. For example: with a 95% LTV loan on a home priced at £50,000, you could borrow up to £47,500 (95% of £50,000), and would have to pay $2,500 as a down payment. The LTV ratio reflects the amount of equity borrowers have in their homes. The higher the LTV ratio, the less cash homebuyers are required to pay out of their own funds. So, to protect lenders against potential loss in case of default, higher LTV loans (80% or more) usually require a mortgage insurance policy. 3. WHA
