ECON 471 Financial Markets and Institutions Practice Problems

A) You are planning to take out a 5 hundred thousand dollar fixed-rate mortgage with a 30-year term and a stated annual mortgage rate of 5.7 percent. Your lender offers to lower your stated annual interest rate by one-quarter of a percentage point for each discount point you buy. What will your monthly payment be if you buy 3 discount points? Round your answer to the nearest dollar.

B) Approximately how many months do you need to stay in the mortgage to make it worthwhile to pay the discount points? Round your answer to two decimal places.