The Era of Very Low Inflation and Interest Rates May Be Near an End

Re:The Era of Very Low Inflation and Interest Rates May Be N... by nwatson on Thursday April 26, 2018 @05:53PM (#16936209)

That's not a "fixed-rate" mortgage (at least in the U.S.), because fixed-rate mortgages set a fixed interest rate until the entire mortgage principal is paid down to $0.

It seems like you're describing a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balloon_payment_mortgage, where you pay a fixed (or perhaps variable?) rate for a few years, but then need to make a huge balloon payment on that mortgage at the end of the term (usually done by arranging a separate mortgage).

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Re:The Era of Very Low Inflation and Interest Rates May Be N... by refurb on Thursday April 26, 2018 @06:07PM (#16936326)

I think people are getting confused.

Fixed rate means the interest rate doesn't change over the term of the loan. Compare this to variable or floating rates that can change.

The difference for the US is that the fixed rates are for a 30 year term. Countries like Canada and Australia have 10 year terms as a max, with most people electing for something shorter as the rate goes down.

In the US your rate might never change. In other countries it changes when you refinance at the end of the term.

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