Get Smart With These Mortgage Calculators
Getting a mortgage can be a tricky and intimidating process, but you don’t have to be a financial wizard to find the right loan. Use these mortgage calculators to crunch the numbers.
Home affordability calculator
This calculator uses your monthly income, any savings you have for a down payment and your monthly debt to calculate the largest monthly payment you can reasonably afford. It then gives you an idea of the loan amount and a sales price that could make sense for your financial situation.
Rent versus own calculator
Want to know if you are better off owning your home or staying in your rented place? This calculator will help you decide. All you need is your monthly rent, the mortgage amount and the interest rate. You can make the calculation more sophisticated by including items like closing costs, property taxes, maintenance and insurance.
Loan payment calculator
This is a general-purpose payment tool that calculates the monthly payment for any type of loan: mortgage (fixed-rate or interest-only), car loan, home equity loan or line of credit. The only three pieces of information you need are loan type, loan amount and interest rate. You can also include the length of the loan. If it’s a mortgage you may include an estimation of taxes and insurance as a part of the calculation.
Adjustable rate mortgage payment calculator
For this calculator you’ll need the loan amount, initial interest rate, the loan length (the term) and the length of the initial rate period (in months). To set adjustable rate mortgage rates, lenders use an index rate and then add a margin. The index rate is usually the one-year Treasury or the one-year LIBOR. You can find national averages for the index and margins at www.freddiemac.com.
Mortgage comparison calculator
This calculator allows you to compare two different loan offers in terms of loan amount, interest rate, loan length, fees and loan type. You’ll want to have details of the two offers in front of you. If you are comparing an adjustable-rate mortgage, be sure to ask the lender what the index and margin are.
Interest rate discount points calculator
Not sure if the paying for discount points on your loan is worth it? This calculator breaks it down for you and shows you how much you could save on your monthly payment and how long you would need to stay in your home to break even.
These mortgage calculators are designed to help you on the way to making smart financial decisions. The more accurate the information you input into the calculator, the more applicable the results.
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