Posted by Ed Garcia on February 23, 2001 at 09:36:01:
Mike,
APR (Annual Percentage Rate), is the cost of money which reflects not only the actual interest rate but also the cost of certain expenses charged such as points etc., as part of the process of obtaining the loan. The actual items that must be calculated into APR, are determined by the Federal government. If the interest rate on a loan was 7.0, the APR could typically be somewhere between 7.3 and 8% depending upon what fees were charged and the amount of each fee.
Mike, for future financial terms, you might check A Glossary Of Common Terms Used In Loans And Lending written by Ed Wachsman in the How-To Articles of this site.
Ed Garcia