Graduated-Payment Mortgage

Graduated-payment mortgage (GPM)

A type of stepped-payment loan in which the borrower's payments are initially lower than those on a comparable level-rate mortgage. The payments gradually increase over a predetermined period (usually 3, 5, or 7 years), and then are fixed at a level-pay schedule, which will be higher than the level-pay amortization of a level-pay mortgage originated at the same time. The difference between what the borrower actually pays and the amount required to fully amortize the mortgage is added to the unpaid principal balance.

---

Graduated Payment Mortgage

A method of amortizing a mortgage such that payments are initially lower than they would be for a comparable mortgage with flat payments, and gradually increase over three, five, or seven years. When payments reach their full amount, they are usually higher than they would have been had the mortgage holder made flat payments over the life of the mortgage. This is because the difference between the initial payments and what the initial payments would have been in a flat payment scheme is added to the principal. A mortgage holder may opt for a GPM if he/she does not have the cash flow for the full mortgage when he/she buys the property, but expects to have it in the future. This entails risk for both the borrower and the lender as those cash flows may or may not be there when the time comes. See also: ARM.