Each type of fixed rate mortgages certainly has its own advantages and disadvantages. Here are some of them. 30-year Fixed Rate Mortgage - Advantages and Disadvantages A 30-year fixed rate mortgage gives consumers the opportunity to borrow money on a long-term basis. They do this without having to worry about the change that might occur in fixed rate mortgage interest rates or payments of such. Whichever is the case, interest-only mortgage rates are always tied to the libor index. The libor index of interest-only mortgage rates stands for London Interbank Offered Rate. LIBOR is the interest rate offered by a specific group of banks in London for matured U.S. dollar deposits. Choosing libor index as basis for your interest-only mortgage rates entitles you to a number of benefits. Second, do make sure that you know what you are looking for. Mortgage rate comparisons are a serious activity to be undertaken and should not be taken lightly. Mortgage rate comparisons will help you make your informed decision on loans. Knowing what to look for in a mortgage is therefore important for a successful mortgage rate comparison. One major factor of mortgage rate movement is inflation. Inflation means a growing economy and increasing prices of goods and services. A growing economy means a stronger demand for goods and services, allowing producers to increase their prices. This therefore results in higher real-estate prices, higher apartment rents, and higher mortgage rates. As a rule of thumb, mortgage interest rates go up when the economy is strong and stock prices rise. On the other hand, if economy weakens, mortgage interest rates go down. In today's market, the mortgage interest rates are much lower than they were in the mid-1980s to the 90s. But within the next year or two, financial experts have come up with predictions mostly outlining the rise of mortgage interest rates. Maintaining a positive balance between income and debt levels is strenuous for most people. At the rate with which home equity loans and credit lines are selling, it's easy to see that a lot of homeowners have succumbed to second lines in order to cover their bills. Some borrowers have taken advantage of loopholes in credit checks to sell their houses for more than what they're worth.