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Comment by fraa-orolo | Hacker News Reader

I just bought an apartment with 15% down. It's in the EU; 15% down is about the standard here with no special exceptions.

With government assistance programmes it can be even 5% down but you'd have to qualify for some protected category.

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How long is the rate fixed for?

The rate is based on Euribor [1], fixed for 6 months in my case (and commonly most everyone) but anything between 3 to 24 months was possible.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euribor

Wow. What's going to happen your payment when rates go back above 0 to stop rampant inflation?

I wish you well but the way things look, you’re completely fucked. Your interest rates have been so unsustainably low for so long. And now things are going up fast and will likely continue to due to rapid inflation.

Good luck!

Forever? Here in Brazil we negotiate a yearly rate for the whole extension of the contract. Isn't this standard?

In the US, 15, 20, and 30 year fixed are boring standard mortgages, with various adjustable rate mortgages available from 1-10 years (and even some interest only products, where you’re essentially just renting the property from the bank and not building any equity).

Agreed except for your mischaracterization at the end. An I/O mortgage is a leveraged asset speculation you live in, without the “forced low interest savings” of traditional mortgages.

Historically, real estate has always appreciated at a health rate except during a handful of tail events. It’s less speculation and more allocating capital elsewhere versus dead capital in your home (and if the interest rate spread between the note and your other investment growth opportunities is significantly robust to make the effort worth while).

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