Using bonuses and windfalls effectively

If you find a mistake or something you don’t understand, contact your lender and your real estate agent immediately. Some errors may be simple typos, while others, like a change in the loan product or APR beyond a certain threshold, could require the lender to issue a revised CD and potentially delay your closing to provide a new three-day review period.

The standardized format of the Loan Estimate is designed specifically for comparison shopping. You should collect Loan Estimates from multiple lenders and compare them side-by-side, focusing on the interest rate, Annual Percentage Rate (APR), total closing costs, and the estimated monthly payment to find the best overall deal.

An escrow account is a holding account managed by your mortgage lender.
You pay a portion of your annual property taxes and homeowner’s insurance into this account with each monthly mortgage payment.
The lender then pays these large bills on your behalf when they come due.
This helps you budget for these expenses in smaller, monthly increments rather than facing one large annual bill.

When inflation rises, central banks often raise interest rates to combat it. If you have a fixed-rate mortgage, your rate and payment are locked in and will not increase, even if new mortgage rates soar. You are effectively shielded from the impact of rising interest rates in the broader economy.