Years and years ago it was not unusual to pay a huge amount of interest on a personal loan, but in the last 20 years those interest rates have been decreasing and benefiting people dramatically.

For instance, 20 years ago the average closing cost for a mortgage was 2.5 – 3%! In the year 2007 the average closing costs for a mortgage are roughly 0.5%. This is a wonderful development for your potential home owners. Not only does it cost less to move into a home but to it also allows home-owners to pursue a mortgage that reflects their lifestyles. For example, we do not have an economy that supports people in the same job for 30 to 40 years – in today’s economy we are likely to have 12 jobs by the age of 38. This marketplace demands mortgages that are more flexible and allow for the professional working opportunities in today’s economy.

Also, with more mortgage products available to home buyer in this constantly changing economy we benefit from more mortgage lenders and more competition, therefore more savings for the customer.

When purchasing a mortgage the customer definitely needs to go over the fine print in detail, so they are not caught in a loan with ridiculous terms from unscrupulous mortgage lenders. Over the years to come the mortgage market will hopefully be cleaned up with better guidelines organized around disclosure and clarity of the mortgage contracts, but in general, people’s lives today are completely different then 20 years ago and need a variety of mortgage products that fit their individual needs.

Cheers,

Philippe Volo
CompareYourLoans Contributing Editor