Defining characteristics
Negative amortization only occurs in loans in which the periodic payment does not cover the amount of interest due for that loan period. The unpaidSpecial cases
* Reverse mortgage: In the extreme or limiting case of the principle of negative amortization, the borrower in a loan does not need to make payments on the loan until the loan comes due; that is, all interest is capitalized, and the original principal and all interest accrued as of the due date are paid off together and at once. The most common context in which this arrangement occurs is that of using residential single-family real estate as collateral for the loan, in which case the loan is known as a reverse mortgage. In the United States of America, the terms of reverse mortgages are heavily regulated by federal law, which as of January 2016 places a lower age limit on the set of permitted borrowers and requires that the mortgage come due only when the borrower no longer uses the property in question as his/her principal residence,Typical circumstances
All NegAM home loans eventually require full repayment of principal and interest according to the original term of the mortgage and note signed by the borrower. Most loans only allow NegAM to happen for no more than 5 years, and have terms to "Recast" (see below) the payment to a fully amortizing schedule if the borrower allows the principal balance to rise to a pre-specified amount. This loan is written often in high cost areas, because the monthly mortgage payments will be lower than any other type of financing instrument. Negative amortization loans can be high risk loans for inexperienced investors. These loans tend to be safer in a falling rate market and riskier in a rising rate market. Start rates on negative amortization or minimum payment option loans can be as low as 1%. This is the payment rate, not the actual interest rate. The payment rate is used to calculate the minimum payment. Other minimum payment options include 1.95% or more.Adjustable rate feature
NegAM loans today are mostly straightMortgage terminology
* Cap : Percentage rate of change in the NegAm payment. Each year, the minimum payment due rises. Most minimum payments today rise at 7.5%. Considering that raising a rate 1% on a mortgage at 5% is a 20% increase, the NegAm can grow quickly in a rising market. Typically after the 5th year, the loan is recast to an adjustable loan due in 25 years. This is for a 30 year loan term. Newer payment option loans often offer a 40 year term with a higher underlying interest rate. * Life cap : The maximum interest rate allowed after recast according to the terms of the note. Generally most NegAm loans in the last 5 years have a life cap of 9.95%. Today many of these loans are capped at 12% or above. (In general Author is using time references that are relative to a time frame that is not defined. 'Today' which is?; 'last 5 years' from when, etc.) * Index : The variable, such as the COFI; COSI; CODI or often MTA, which determines the adjustment as an increase or decrease in the interest rate. Other examples include the LIBOR and TREASURY. * Margin : Often disclosed in the adjustable rate rider of a Deed of Trust, the margin is determined by the lender and is used to calculate the interest rate. Often the loan originator can increase the margin when structuring the product for the borrower. An increase to the margin will also increase the borrower's interest rate, but will improve the yield spread premium which the loan originator may receive as compensation from the lender. * Fully indexed rate (F.I.R.) : The fully indexed rate is the sum of the margin and the current index value at the time of adjustment. The F.I.R. is the "interest rate" and determines the interest only, 30 year and 15 year amortized payments. Most adjustable rate products have caps on rate adjustments. If the note provides for a single adjustment not to exceed an increase by more than 1.5, and the variable index, for example, increased by 2.5 since the last adjustment, the fully indexed rate will top out at a maximum adjustment of 1.5, as stated in the note, for that particular adjustment period. Often the F.I.R. is used to determine the debt to income ratio when qualifying a borrower for this loan product. * Payment options : There are typically 4 payment options (listed from highest to lowest): :* 15 year payment :** Amortized over a period of 15 years at the F.I.R. :* 30 year payment :** Amortized over a period of 30 years at the F.I.R. :* Interest only payment :** F.I.R. times the principal balance, divided by 12 months (with no amortization or reduction in the owed balance). :* Minimum payment :** Based on the minimal start rate determined by the lender. When paying the minimum payment, the difference between the interest only payment and the minimum payment is deferred to the balance of the loan increasing what is owed on the mortgage. * Period : How often the NegAm payment changes. Typically, the minimum payment rises once every twelve months in these types of loans. Usually the rate of rise is 7.5%. The F.I.R. is subject to adjusting with the variable Index, most often on a monthly basis, depending on the product. * Recast : Premature stop of NegAm. Should the balance increase to a predetermined amount (from 110% up to 125% of the original balance per federal or state regulations) the loan will be "recast" with one of two payment options: the fully amortized principal and interest payment, or if the maximum balance has been reached before the fifth year, an interest only payment until the loan has matured to the recast date (typically 5 years). * Stop : End of NegAm payment schedule.Criticisms
Negative-amortization loans, being relatively popular only in the last decade, have attracted a variety of criticisms: * Unlike most other adjustable-rate loans, many negative-amortization loans have been advertised with either teaser or artificial, introductory interest rates or with the minimum loan payment expressed as a percentage of the loan amount. For example, a negative-amortization loan is often advertised as featuring "1% interest", or by prominently displaying a 1% number without explaining the F.I.R. This practice has been done by large corporate lenders. This practice has been considered deceptive for two different reasons: most mortgages do not feature teaser rates, so consumers do not look out for them; and, many consumers aren't aware of the negative amortization side effect of only paying 1% of the loan amount per year. In addition, most negative amortization loans contain a clause saying that the payment may not increase more than 7.5% each year, ''except'' if the 5-year period is over or if the balance has grown by 15%. Critics say this clause is only there to deceive borrowers into thinking the payment could only jump a small amount, whereas in fact the other two conditions are more likely to occur. * Negative-amortization loans as a class have the highest potential for what is known as payment shock. Payment shock is when the required monthly payment jumps from one month to the next, potentially becoming unaffordable. To compare various mortgages' payment-shock potential (note that the items here do not include escrow payments for insurance and taxes, which can cause changes in the payment amount): ** 30-year (or 15-year) fixed-rate fully amortized mortgages: no possible payment jump. ** 5-year adjustable-rate fully amortized mortgage: No payment jump for 5 years, then a possible payment decrease or increase based on the new interest rate. ** A 10-year interest only mortgage product, recasting to a 20-year amortization schedule (after ten years of interest-only payments) could see a payment increase of up to $600 on a balance of 330K. ** Negative amortization mortgage: no payment jump either until 5 years OR the balance grows 15% (depending on the product) higher than the original amount. The payment increases, by requiring a full interest-plus-principal payment. The payment could further increase due to interest-rate changes. However, all things being equal, the fully amortized payment is almost triple the negatively amortized payment. ** First month free: a loan officer may allow the borrower to skip the first monthly payment on a refinance loan, by simply adding that payment to the principal and charging compound interest on it for many years. The borrower may not understand or question the transaction. In a very hot real estate market a buyer may use a negative-amortizing mortgage to purchase a property with the plan to sell the property at a higher price before the end of the "negam" period. Therefore, an informed investor could purchase several properties with minimal monthly obligations and make a great profit over a five-year plan in a rising real-estate market. However, if the property values decrease, it is likely that the borrower will owe more on the property than it is worth, known colloquially in the mortgage industry as "being underwater". In this situation, the property owner may be faced with foreclosure or having to refinance with a very highSee also
* PIK loan, a similar concept inReferences
{{DEFAULTSORT:Negative Amortization Mortgage