Amortization

Description

Amortization

Amortization means paying off a loan with regular payments over time, so that the amount you owe decreases with each payment. Most home loans amortize, but some mortgage loans do not fully amortize, meaning that you would still owe money after making all of your payments.

Some home loans allow payments that cover only the amount of interest due, or an amount less than the interest due. If payments are less than the amount of interest due each month, the mortgage balance will grow rather than decrease.  This is called negative amortization. Other loan programs that do not amortize fully during the loan may require a large, lump sum “balloon” payment at the end of the loan term. Be sure you know what type of loan you are getting.