A mortgage is a loan to finance the purchase of your home. A mortgage loan may also be used in the refinance of an existing home (mortgage) loan.

The home you purchase acts as the collateral for the loan, which is a legal contract you sign to promise that you'll pay the debt, with interest and other costs. The typical term for a mortgage loan is between 15 and 30 years.

To repay the debt, you make monthly installments or payments that typically include (PITI):

• Principal
• Interest
• Taxes
• Insurance 

Leaders Credit Union offers mortgage loans at affordable rates.

The specific amount of your closing costs will be based on your loan amount and other factors. Here are the fees that are included in your closing costs.

• Third-party fees, including the appraisal fee, credit report fee, settlement/closing fee, survey fee, tax service fee, title insurance fee, flood certification fee, property insurance premium, and courier/mailing fee. Where applicable, these are fees that Leaders will collect and pass on to the party who performed the service.
• Property taxes and other unavoidable costs, including your state/local property taxes and recording fees.
• Lender fees, including mortgage points (if applicable), document preparation fees, and loan processing fees.

Your closing costs will be disclosed on the Loan Estimate and on the Closing Disclosure. For FHA mortgages, you are permitted to apply a family gift toward the closing costs and there is also an option to have the sellers pay part of the closing costs.

No. While some loans do allow borrowers to roll their closing costs into their loan, that’s not an option with an FHA loan. However, you do have the option of using a family gift to pay some or all of your closing costs.

No, but the FHA has a low minimum down payment requirement of only 3.5%. The FHA also allows buyers to apply family gifts toward a down payment.

Yes. Anybody who gets a mortgage through the FHA must pay for FHA mortgage insurance. It’s a requirement of the loan. If you put down less than 10% down, you will be required to pay for the insurance for the entire term of your loan–unless you refinance. With more than 10% down, you can cancel your mortgage insurance after 11 years.

Mortgage points offer home buyers the option to trade an up-front payment to reduce the interest rate for their mortgage. The cost of points is added to your closing costs. The benefit of buying points if you can afford it is that you will save money over the term of your mortgage thanks to a reduction in your interest rate.