Silent Second Mortgage

  

Categories: Real Estate, Mortgage

See: Second Mortgage.

It’s a big day for Danny and Sandy: they’re finally ready to buy their first house. They’ve gotten approved for a $400,000 mortgage loan, which is great, but there’s just one itty bitty teensy weensy issue: there is no way they’re going to be able to come up with the $80,000 they need for the down payment on the house. After all, who has eighty grand lying around? Not these two.

Luckily, there's an option by which they can take out an additional loan for the down payment amount. This loan is referred to as a “silent second mortgage.” But before Danny and Sandy get too excited, there are a couple things they should know about these types of loans.

First, they’re called “silent second mortgages” because, historically, these extra loans were taken out without the knowledge of the first lender. This is a big no-no. In fact, it’s more than a no-no; it’s illegal. Why? Because when we get approved for a mortgage, our lender is supposed to know about all additional loans, debt, assets, financial obligations...everything. If we sneak around and get a secret loan to cover our down payment, we’re technically committing mortgage fraud, which means we could end up facing big fines, and even jail time, if we get caught. And that would be...bad.

But there is another way. The term “silent second mortgage” can also refer to a loan-securing practice that is similar, but far less illegal. We’re talking about DPAs, or Down Payment Assistance Programs. These state-supported programs allow homeowners to take out special additional loans specifically designed to help with down payment costs. And while they’re not as “secret” as their illegal cousins—our first lender is totally going to find out about any DPA action we’re involved in—they can make homeownership an achievable dream for folks like Danny and Sandy.

DPA-type silent second mortgages are indeed additional loans, but they usually come with more favorable terms than our loud first mortgage. The interest rate might be lower, and it might not be compounded as often. Also, in many cases, we don’t have to start paying the loan back until we sell the house, which can help make monthly payments easier to manage while we’re in the house. If Danny and Sandy decide to go the (legal) silent second mortgage route, it sounds like they could be enjoying some summer nights in their own backyard in no time.

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Finance: What is Interest Only Mortgage?17 Views

00:00

Finance allah shmoop what is an interest only mortgage Well

00:07

simply put it's when you only pay the rent on

00:10

the dough you borrowed you don't pay down the principal

00:14

you owe like if you have a three hundred thousand

00:16

dollars mortgage at six percent interest you're paying eighteen grand

00:19

a year to rent that money in six percent times

00:22

three hundred rands eighteen grand a year But the principal

00:25

you borrowed is likely due in thirty years So in

00:28

theory anyway if it were a normal mortgage you'd want

00:32

to pay down the principal little bit a month as

00:34

you go along like averaging ten grand a year in

00:37

principle pay down over thirty years That's times ten grand

00:41

right three hundred grand their total owning your home at

00:44

the end yeah yeah priceless that's what holmes work So

00:47

why would you want an interest only mortgage Well for

00:51

one thing the monthly payments or less so maybe you

00:54

could afford morehouse If on a thirty year three hundred

00:57

thousand dollar loan at six percent you're paying interest only

01:00

while you're writing a check each month for eighteen thousand

01:03

divided by twelve or fifteen hundred bucks maybe that's all

01:06

You can afford well the extra five hundred bucks arm

01:09

or you'd right toe pay down your principles Just not

01:12

something you can really do right now Maybe after three

01:15

years of scrimping and saving well you'll be able to

01:18

start paying down that principal reducing risk and making life

01:21

easier all the way around But right now you can't

01:24

afford it so the only thing you can do is

01:26

do the interest only dance Well the other reason you

01:28

might want an interest only mortgages that interest costs are

01:31

tax deductible Principal pay down costs are not so if

01:37

in a given mortgage payment of say eighteen hundred bucks

01:40

a month where three hundred of it is principal pay

01:43

down and fifteen hundred of it is interest well on

01:47

ly the fifteen hundred is tax deductible That three hundred

01:51

of pay down is not And if you're a forty

01:53

percent taxpayer the government is essentially picking up the tax

01:58

savings on the fifteen hundred times a forty percent at

02:02

six hundred dollars in interest You're paying such that they

02:05

quote feel unquote like the fifteen hundred is really only

02:10

about nine hundred a month in cost to you the

02:13

three hundred bucks and principal paydown feels like a full

02:16

three hundred dollars So some people seeking tio optimize their

02:19

tax deductions live in the world of interest only mortgages

02:23

and let the government for a change You know work 00:02:26.24 --> [endTime] for them How's that feel same all Take it

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