Are you needlessly spending hundreds of dollars more than you need to each month for your mortgage because you have the wrong loan type for your circumstances? Understand your options, and their costs. Don't make a 30-year mistake by making assumptions.

If youre like most people, you've probably been bombarded with advice by well-intentioned, although clearly ill informed people, that a 30-year fixed mortgage loan type is the only loan to consider. To dispel a long-standing untruth, a 30-year mortgage is not necessarily the best alternative for a mortgage.

In fact, this is the most expensive loan type available.

Why? The fact is that 96.5% of homeowners sell and move, or refinance, within 7 years of taking out a loan. So why force a lender to commit to providing a 30-year fixed rate mortgage when you could 'buy' a 7-year interest rate commitment at a lower interest rate?

The latest trend of 40-year loans might fit you even better. Or perhaps an adjustable rate mortgage with a 5- or 7-year fixed interest rate. Either way it translates into lower monthly payments for you. True, borrowing the money over a 40-year period or with an adjustable rate could result in you paying a heap more of interest if you keep the loan for more than a few years, but if you move out or refinance during the first few years, as many people do, then youll be coming out way ahead, financially.

So think twice before going ahead with that 30-year mortgage. It can cost you much more than other loan options.