When you're struggling to make your mortgage payment each month, there's no doubt that an interest only mortgage can sound very appealing. It would almost certainly make your repayment lower! But there's a lot more to think about when it comes to interest only mortgages.

In a lot of ways, interest only mortgages have as many options and variations as standard home mortgages. You can choose a fixed interest rate loan, or adjustable rates, just like you can with a standard loan.

However there's one main difference - with an interest only mortgage, you never pay anything off the loan. So although it may make life easier to have a lower monthly repayment on your mortgage, at some point you will have to do something about the outstanding loan balance.

That may mean that you take an interest only mortgage out for 5 years, as an example, knowing that after 5 years you and your partner will have finished having children, and both of you will be back in full time employment. At that time you will be able to afford higher repayments, and so can refinance into a standard home loan.

It could also be that your work tends to require you to move states on a regular basis, so paying off your loan isn't really important to you - you'll probably have to sell your home in a couple of years time anyway.

Choosing an interest only mortgage may also enable you to borrow more, and so buy a more expensive home. Or, if you're keen on investing in property, interest only loans may help you to buy more than one property, because you don't need to pay so much out of your pocket for each one.

These are only a few possible scenarios, but they do begin to show the vast range of reasons why people will opt for an interest only mortgage.

When you're considering an interest only mortgage, check out the features of the loan, and of course the fees and charges. One feature worth having is payment flexibility. At some point your income might increase, or you may receive a lump sum - in which case it's good to know that you can pay it off the loan balance without penalty. Be careful, though, as some loans will limit the total amount extra you are able to pay in a 12-month period.

You may also want to have a cash out or redraw facility. Basically, this means that if you have made extra payments off the loan balance, at some point down the future you can then withdraw them again. This is really handy if you have a financial emergency.

In the end, only you can decide if an interest only mortgage is appropriate for your life circumstances. But for many people, they can make taking out a home loan much simpler and cheaper.

Find more great home mortgage information at Home Loan Zone Central