Final answer:
The monthly interest rate on the loan is approximately 1.05%, the APR is approximately 12.61%, and the effective annual rate is approximately 13.22%. The lender is more likely to quote the APR on the loan.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the monthly interest rate on the loan, we need to calculate the interest rate expressed as a monthly fraction. We can do this by using the formula:
Interest Rate (as a decimal) = (Monthly Payment / Loan Amount) - 1
In this case, the monthly payment is $2,738.38 and the loan amount is $260,000. Plugging in these values, we get:
Interest Rate (as a decimal) = (2738.38 / 260000) - 1 = 0.01053661538
Multiplying by 100 to convert to percentage, the monthly interest rate is approximately 1.05%.
To find the APR, we can use the monthly interest rate calculated above and multiply it by 12 to get the annual interest rate. In this case, the APR is approximately 12.61%.
The effective annual rate (EAR) takes into account any compounding that occurs during the year. To calculate the EAR, we can use the formula:
EAR = (1 + Monthly Interest Rate)¹² - 1
Plugging in the monthly interest rate of 0.01053661538, we get:
EAR = (1 + 0.01053661538)¹² - 1 = 0.13220464496
Multiplying by 100 to convert to percentage, the EAR is approximately 13.22%.
The lender is more likely to quote the APR on the loan as it is a standardized measure that can be compared across different loan options.