<instructions>Your goal is to analyze the following comment and estimate how highly it will be upvoted by the Hacker News community.</instructions><comment><author>bhawks</author><text>The American mortgage market is very unique from the perspective that it has 10, 15 and 30 year fixed rate debt. There are generally no prepayment penalties and no balloon payment (each payment is the same amount even the last one). You can pay down extra any time you want and it reduces your principal appropriately.&lt;p&gt;The maturities and payment structures are quite generous compared to many other countries mortgage products. Of course there are shorter maturities and different types of adjustable rate mortgages but these are not popular (fallout from 2008 crisis and the general low interest rate environment).&lt;p&gt;Edit: there is also 40 year fixed products starting to be offered.</text><parent_chain><item><author>d_t_w</author><text>Question from an Australian(ish) here.&lt;p&gt;If you Americans buy a house with an 8% mortgage today, can you remortgage in the future if&amp;#x2F;when the rate drops. Is the buy-out penalty of remortgaging somehow higher than just selling &amp;#x2F; repurchasing?&lt;p&gt;Do people get locked into higher mortgage rates for long periods of time that are uncompetitive is my question. Is there a significant downside? Is 30-year fixed normal in the states?&lt;p&gt;30-year fixed rates don&amp;#x27;t exist in Australia. You&amp;#x27;ll get a 5 year fixed rate from ~6% or so, that&amp;#x27;s about it.</text></item></parent_chain></comment><story><title>30-year fixed mortgage rate just hit 8% for the first time since 2000</title><url>https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/18/30-year-fixed-mortgage-rate-just-hit-8percent-for-the-first-time-since-2000.html</url></story>
<instructions>Your goal is to analyze the following comment and estimate how highly it will be upvoted by the Hacker News community.</instructions><comment><author>nostromo</author><text>Yes you can refinance at a lower rate if&amp;#x2F;when rates drop.&lt;p&gt;You have to pay some money to do so, but it&amp;#x27;s insignificant compared to the cost of interest if it&amp;#x27;s over a percent lower or so.&lt;p&gt;There are usually no pre-payment penalties.&lt;p&gt;I imagine a lot of people buying houses right now are counting on mortgage rates dropping in the future.</text><parent_chain><item><author>d_t_w</author><text>Question from an Australian(ish) here.&lt;p&gt;If you Americans buy a house with an 8% mortgage today, can you remortgage in the future if&amp;#x2F;when the rate drops. Is the buy-out penalty of remortgaging somehow higher than just selling &amp;#x2F; repurchasing?&lt;p&gt;Do people get locked into higher mortgage rates for long periods of time that are uncompetitive is my question. Is there a significant downside? Is 30-year fixed normal in the states?&lt;p&gt;30-year fixed rates don&amp;#x27;t exist in Australia. You&amp;#x27;ll get a 5 year fixed rate from ~6% or so, that&amp;#x27;s about it.</text></item></parent_chain></comment><story><title>30-year fixed mortgage rate just hit 8% for the first time since 2000</title><url>https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/18/30-year-fixed-mortgage-rate-just-hit-8percent-for-the-first-time-since-2000.html</url></story>