While reverse mortgages have their advantages, they also have a downside. As you know already, reverse mortgages do not require monthly paybacks. This means that with reverse mortgages, you are actually taking out equity from your home and turning it into cash. This does not bode well for your debt or your home equity for that matter. This drives mortgage interest rates even higher. When the economy goes down on the other hand, the same thing happens with mortgage interest rates, but in reverse. The Feds will cut down the mortgage interest rates in order to bring the economy back to life. Investors will start buying more bonds while the mortgage interest rates are low. These people may be able to borrow money on loan programs where little or no down payment is required. But to do so, they would have to provide a private mortgage insurance or PMI. If you want to avoid PMI, you can take an 80 20 mortgage loan. With an 80 20 mortgage loan, you get a "piggyback loan" or second mortgage loan that is used to back up the first mortgage. With a take over mortgage, you only need to put down $5,000 to assume your friend's home and mortgage. Along with the $5,000 take over mortgage down payment, closing fees are applicable. Another example is when one of your friends got a take over mortgage for $80,000 with 6.5% fifteen years ago. The take over mortgage loan balance left is $70,000. It is either the interest rates will lower down or it will rise up. Lower interest rates mean lower monthly adjustable-rate mortgage payments. Higher interest rates mean higher monthly adjustable-rate mortgage payments for you. There is no middle ground. Adjustable-rate mortgage payments are basically a trade-off - you exchange more risk for lower rate with an adjustable-rate mortgage payment. If you've bought a house before, you probably have an idea what amortization mortgage is. But as far as details are concerned, amortization mortgages just escape those who don't have a solid financial education background. Amortization Mortgages: What the experts say According to Philip Russel, assistant professor of finance at Philadelphia University, an amortization mortgage is "the systemic payment plan - such as a monthly payment - so that your loan is paid off over the specified loan period.