What are points?
Points are finance charges paid to the lender as part of the closing costs. Each point equals 1% of your total mortgage loan. Points can be negotiable and are sometimes tied to your interest rate. Paying more points to get a lower interest rate may be a good idea if you plan to take a long-term loan.
In the special vocabulary of mortgage lending, “points” are a type of fee that lenders charge (the full term to describe this fee is “discount points”). Simply put, a point is a unit of measure that means 1% of the loan amount. So, if you take out a $100,000 loan, one point equals $1,000. Discount points represent additional money you can pay at closing to the lender to get a lower interest rate on your loan. Usually, for each point on a 30-year loan, your interest rate is reduced by about .25 of a percentage point for 1 discount point (1% of the loan amount). TIP: Usually, the longer you plan to stay in your home, the more sense it makes to pay discount points. We will be happy to discuss the pros & cons with you to help you make your decision.
