Other consumers choose 30-year fixed rate mortgages because the payments are considerably lower than the former. 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. The monthly payments for a fixed rate home mortgage may either for a period of 15 years or 30 years. Fixed rate home mortgages are considered stable. With fixed rate home mortgages, your interest rates are guaranteed and your monthly payments are predetermined. A 30-year fixed rate home mortgage has its own advantages and disadvantages. Even with prepayments, many interest-only mortgage rate lenders will still let you pay up to 20% of your loan balance during any 12 month period without prepayment penalties. This flexibility of interest-only mortgage rates gives homebuyers more incentives in taking an interest-only mortgage rate. Interest-only mortgage rate also reduces the income you need to have in order to qualify for a loan. Even with a fixed rate mortgage, interest-only mortgages are still bound to be only temporary. And InterstFirst product only lets interest-only mortgage payments for half of the total term. The expiration schedule of an interest-only mortgage payment is usually at the end of a set period. This makes interest-only mortgages compatible to "amalgam" adjustable rate mortgages. Mortgage Rate Comparisons and Shopping Shopping is the best way to do a mortgage rate comparison. Not only does shopping allow you to get the all the information you need to do a complete mortgage rate comparison but also, it lets you have an idea on what services other firms are offering. When you shop around to do a mortgage rate comparison, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. For most people, refinancing a home only makes sense if the new home mortgage rate is 2% lower than your current rate. This idea no longer applies in today's market though, where loan terms are no longer limited to 30-year fixed rate mortgages. Lenders today are offering fixed rate mortgages with 15, 20, or 30 year terms.