Many of us have never known ‘normal’ let along high mortgage interest rates although it wasn’t that long ago that 6 or 6.5% was the norm for a 5 year mortgage. When I started working at the bank (in the mid 90’s) the rates were closer to 10%!

How much difference would a 1% rate increase make to your monthly payment? Your monthly mortgage payment would increase by a little over 10%. If your mortgage payment is $1,500 per month, it would increase by $175 to approximately $1,675. Not much you say….but could you afford it? What if the rates increased by more than 1%?

What is your plan if you are faced with this challenge? What expenses do you control and/or resources do you have access to? Perhaps you could increase your income or rent out part of your home. Changes to your lifestyle could mean reduced expenses. It’s worth a conversation because knowing how you would deal with this hurdle can reduce worry about the unknown or the ‘What if?’.