There are different classifications/terminologies used to define prepayment penalties.
A prepayment penalty implies a fixed period of time that you must keep a loan. You cannot refi, you cannot sell your home, you cannot do squat otherwise you pay a prepayment penalty. A “hard” prepayment penalty means you cannot sell the home without paying a penalty. A “soft” prepayment penalty implies you cannot refi the home without a prepayment penalty.
Just about all hybrid loans carry a soft prepayment penalty for a fixed number of years. Some of them even carry a hard prepayment penalty as well.
I am not a mortgage broker so I am sure many who are more well versed then I can comment.
Wrangler good for you on the purchase as well. My only concern is that the refinancing strategy part concerns me. Honestly covering that “base” is a VERY important thing and I feel that this may be a portion of the purchasing process that was not as well researched as could have been.
The physical inspection part is a very good idea. No reason not to do it. For a few hundred bucks it makes sense to do on an investment that is at least several hundred thousand. As I said, the important thing to check is that the builder will indeed remedy findings that are brought up by the inspector. I would ASSUME they will BUT asking beforehand could not hurt.
