Mortgage programs are the overall type of lending that offers certain guidelines like the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or the Veterans Administration (VA). Within each program, there are various products that are offered like a 30 year fixed or a 5/1 ARM, etc.
The three basic types of mortgage products are fixed rate, adjustable rate and hybrid, which has an initial period where the rate is fixed but then converts to a adjustable rate mortgage for the remainder of the loan term. Common loan terms are 30 or 15 years, but we also offer terms as short as 10 years and can offer 20 and 25 year terms on many programs.
In most cases, the shorter the loan term the lower the interest rate (but the higher the payment since the loan is being amortized over a shorter period of time). As an example, total interest paid in a 15 year loan may end up being less than half what you’d pay on a 30 year loan, but your monthly payments will be higher.