portable mortgages

By ERIN FLYNN JAY The concept of mortgage porting, or transferring the terms of an existing loan over to a new property, has gained popularity as Americans locked into low interest rates try to figure out ways to navigate the current housing market. It is estimated that trading up to a 25% more expensive home would more than double the average mortgage holder’s monthly payment at current interest rates. Even moving to a similarly-priced home in the same neighborhood would increase principal and interest payments by 40%. Advocates for portable mortgages say if homeowners could keep their current interest rates, they would be more likely to sell their homes and buy a new one. That, in turn, would help unfreeze…