Joint Mortgage

No. 1 LSU routs No. 17 Florida
No. 1 LSU had little trouble Saturday 11 victory in a game that might be remembered best for a touchdown that was taken off the board.

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Rate on 30-Year Mortgage Falls to Record 3.94 Percent
The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.94 percent this week, the lowest rate ever. For those who can qualify, it's an extraordinary opportunity to buy or refinance.

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There is always a debate when home buyers have to decide on the merits of 15 or 30 year fixed mortgage rates. Paying the mortgage off early is important for many people that buy a home later in life. It may take some time to reach a decision as there are many things to contemplate. Home buyers looking into this need to be assured their monthly payments will not increase.

It seems that some lenders are happy to offer deals that appear too good to be true and they usually are. A fixed rate mortgage maintains a set interest rate during the period of the loan. For many people with regular incomes, this is a definite benefit as there are no hidden charges. Both my wife and I decided to research fixed rate mortgages when we started looking at homes for sale.

The plan was to pay off the house as soon as possible but we did not want to be burdened with high monthly payments. Considering longer term fixed rate mortgages was one option if we could not afford a 15 year plan. Still, having a mortgage close to retirement was not what we were looking for, so we decided to try for a loan with a 15 year fixed mortgage. It was not easy for us because of the stress to pay the house off early.

We thought about it long and hard and despite the pressure we decided to go with the 30 year loan plan. There are always a number of points to think about when a decision like this has to be made.Discovering my wife was having a baby was the most important reason. The contribution my wife made to the monthly finances would be unreliable since she intended to raise our child at home. The downside to the 15 year fixed mortgage rate was the higher monthly repayment.

We knew that it just was not an option and the risk was too great. After looking at the much lower amount we would be paying per month with a 30 year mortgage loan, there was not any option but to go with it.

We are also able to make extra payments throughout the year to make the principal shrink quicker. By making just a few of these payments each year we discovered that a number of years could be taken off the mortgage term.

In the long term, this is a strategy well worth pursuing if you are able. Our first choice would have been to go for the short term 15 year fixed rate mortgage solution but this did not help with our more immediate situation. In retrospect, everything worked out ok for us by going down this road.