Best Interest-only Mortgages Website Reviews

Interest-only Mortgages – an alternative to the usual mortgage repayment system is the interest-only mortgage. In this arrangement, borrowers make monthly payments for the interest portion of the loan only and no monthly repayments for the principal. This is easier for the borrower but involves a higher risk of non-payment carried by the principal lender, since the whole principal repayment is usually made at the end of the term. This type of mortgage is generally backed up by a separate investment plan that  builds a certain lump sum that will match the amount to pay off the principal loan.

Site 1: http://www.guardian.co.uk

This is the site of the prestigious weekly newspaper in the U.K., the Guardian. They have many incisive articles on the housing or mortgage market in the United Kingdom. Among its more recent articles is the one about banking giant Abbey reducing its interest-only mortgages by discouraging most borrowers away from it, on the reason that borrowers are not fully aware of its risks. What the ill-informed borrowers are after is merely the lower   monthly payments (interest only) but they are at higher risks for foreclosure because most of them have no clear source of repayment income either.

Site 2: http://www.canada.com

I find this site quite interesting simply because it gives an opposite overview of Canadian housing market. Whereas most other developed economies have been hit by the housing crisis in the U.S., Canada’s market is entirely different and was sheltered from the fallout of the sub-prime crisis. This insulation is primarily because of the conservative banking sector, a homogenous mortgage market, different regulatory conditions and not so many mortgage product innovations which led to laxity or lowering in the lending standards. The recent liberalization of Canada’s banking industry has introduced 3 new products that are trend-setting in themselves: 40-year terms, 100% financing, and interest-only loans.

Site 3: http://business.inquirer.net

This site is that of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the leading Philippine newspaper but it offers also articles on finance, especially on the mortgage crisis. In one article, it was even discussed the leadership lessons to be learned from the current credit crunch in the U.S. housing market. The whole mortgage mess happened because of one human vice – greed, on the part of all the players and stakeholders in the mortgage finance industry. These include the borrowers themselves, the mortgage brokers, and the main bankers. For the homeowners, the lesson is never to live beyond your means. For investment bankers, their lesson is never to again over-leverage your portfolio in only one industry sector.