Discount points, also called mortgage points or simply points, are a form of pre-paid
interest
In finance and economics, interest is payment from a debtor or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum (that is, the amount borrowed), at a particular rate. It is distinct f ...
available in the United States when arranging a
mortgage
A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners t ...
. One point equals one percent of the
loan
In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money.
The document evidencing the deb ...
amount. By charging a borrower points, a lender effectively increases the yield on the loan above the amount of the stated
interest rate
An interest rate is the amount of interest due per period, as a proportion of the amount lent, deposited, or borrowed (called the principal sum). The total interest on an amount lent or borrowed depends on the principal sum, the interest rate, ...
. Borrowers can offer to pay a lender points as a method to reduce the interest rate on the loan, thus obtaining a lower monthly payment in exchange for this up-front payment. For each point purchased, the loan rate is typically reduced by anywhere from 1/8% (0.125%) to 1/4% (0.25%).
Selling the property or refinancing prior to this break-even point will result in a net financial loss for the buyer while keeping the loan for longer than this break-even point will result in a net financial savings for the buyer. Accordingly, if the intention is to buy and sell the property or refinance, paying points will cost more than just paying the higher interest rate.
Points may also be purchased to reduce the monthly payment for the purpose of qualifying for a loan. Loan qualification based on monthly income versus the monthly loan payment may sometimes only be achievable by reducing the monthly payment through the purchasing of points to buy down the interest rate, thereby reducing the monthly loan payment.
Discount points may be different from origination fee, mortgage arrangement fee or broker fee. Discount points are always used to buy down the interest rates, while origination fees sometimes are fees the lender charges for the loan or sometimes just another name for buying down the interest rate. Origination fee and discount points are both items listed under lender-charges on the HUD-1 Settlement Statement.
The difference in savings over the life of the loan can make paying points a benefit to the borrower. Any significant changes in fees should be re-disclosed in the final
good faith estimate The CFPB requires that lenders provide customers with a Loan Estimate to help them understand the full cost of buying a home with a mortgage. The Loan Estimate replaces the Good Faith Estimate, or GFE, that was used prior to 2015.
Lenders are requi ...
(GFE).
Also directly related to points is the concept of the ' no closing cost loan', in which the consumer accepts a higher interest rate in return for the lender paying the loan's closing costs up front. In some cases, a purchaser can negotiate with the seller to get them to pay seller's points which can be used to pay mortgage points.
Service release premium
A service release premium (SRP) is the payment received by a
lending
In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money.
The document evidencing the debt ( ...
institution, such as a bank or retail
mortgage
A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners t ...
lender, on the sale of a closed
mortgage loan
A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners t ...
to the secondary mortgage market. The secondary mortgage market purchaser is typically a Wall Street investment bank,
Fannie Mae
The Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), commonly known as Fannie Mae, is a United States government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) and, since 1968, a publicly traded company. Founded in 1938 during the Great Depression as part of the New ...
,
Freddie Mac
The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), commonly known as Freddie Mac, is an American publicly traded, government-sponsored enterprise (GSE), headquartered in Tysons, Virginia.Ginnie Mae, as the first step in the creation of a
mortgage-backed security
A mortgage-backed security (MBS) is a type of asset-backed security (an "Financial instrument, instrument") which is secured by a mortgage loan, mortgage or collection of mortgages. The mortgages are aggregated and sold to a group of individuals ( ...
(MBS). Today, virtually all mortgages closed are purchased by the US government through the GSE Mortgage Backed Securities Purchase Program.
The amount of SRP paid is based on the market value of the mortgage note, influenced by several key variables, such as
interest rate
An interest rate is the amount of interest due per period, as a proportion of the amount lent, deposited, or borrowed (called the principal sum). The total interest on an amount lent or borrowed depends on the principal sum, the interest rate, ...
, loan type, margin (for ARM loans), and the inclusion or exclusion of other items such as prepayment penalties. Also considered are the loan's LTV (loan to value), the borrower's
credit score
A credit score is a numerical expression based on a level analysis of a person's credit files, to represent the creditworthiness of an individual. A credit score is primarily based on a credit report, information typically sourced from credit bu ...
, the presence of private mortgage insurance (PMI), pre-payment risk of the borrower and other factors beyond the scope of this article.
Since servicing was brought on balance sheet by all lenders there has been consolidation in the servicing market because many servicers believed that they could cross sell their products through servicing portfolios. While this strategy hasn't been as profitable as many would have thought it has worked well for some. These servicers therefore paid a premium for servicing compared to its present value.