Thursday, February 14, 2008

MORTGAGE CALCULATORS

One of the easiest ways to choose rate types and mortgage terms is to determine how much you want to spend on a house and how much you can afford on a monthly basis

If you need help running the numbers there are many different mortgage calculators online that can do the work for you

Because there are so many things to consider before getting a mortgage you may want to use different calculators for different purposes For example a mortgage amortization calculator can help you determine what type of loan term is best for you by estimating how fast you can pay down your mortgage and build up equity Mortgage rate calculators on the other hand can help you determine what type of interest rate is best for your financial situation

Such calculators can be great tools for homebuyers who want to educate themselves prior to taking out a mortgage loan However you must keep in mind that these calculators do not take every cost of homeownership into account Mortgage insurance taxes remodeling and maintenance costs may not be figured into the calculations Because these costs can really add up on a monthly basis they should be carefully considered when determining how much house you can afford

A mortgage calculator is a tool that can be used by mortgage companies realtors people working in the business world and any other individual who is interested in determining the monthly payment that is associated with a potential or current loan Without using a mortgage calculator the process of determining the monthly payment on a loan would be much more complicated time consuming and maybe even impossible for anyone who is not a numbers person

Almost Everything Can be Calculated

Not only can a mortgage calculator be used to calculate the monthly payment on an amortized loan principal interest but a mortgage calculator can also account for property taxes that are charged on a yearly basis and the cost of homeowners insurance and add those numbers into the loans projected monthly payments

It is also possible to use a loan calculator to figure out how much income is needed in order to qualify for a particular loan amount Most mortgage companies will only permit a person or a married couple to borrow a certain amount of money and that amount is determined by that person or couples monthly income monthly investment income and total amount of other types of debt

Calculators Provide Estimated Numbers

When a mortgage calculator is used to determine what a monthly payment will be on a home loan its important to remember that the numbers the calculator produces are only estimates

The actual monthly payment may be higher or lower than what the calculator says because there may be closing costs and other fees added to the total amount of the loan Also if taxes and homeowners insurance costs will be added into the equation the numbers for the calculation may not be definite numbers The real numbers will probably be similar to what a mortgage calculator determines but the actual dollar amount may be slightly varied

Making Larger Payments than Required

Amortized mortgages have a predetermined monthly payment due for a set number of months However some mortgages allow the borrower to pay additional principal each month in order to lower the total loan amount Also some lenders will allow the borrower to make mortgage payments every two weeks instead of once a month Paying every two weeks may seem impractical but over the course of 30 years it can reduce the total amount of the loan by a significant amount

Mortgage calculators can be used to determine how much a loan would be reduced if additional principal was paid each month and or if payments were made to the mortgage company every two weeks instead of every month If the amount that the calculator determines is a significant amount of money borrowers may choose to use either of these two methods to shave years off the length of the mortgage and or save a significant amount of money on interest

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