When it comes to taking out a home loan, the numbers are important.
You need to know how much money you have for a down payment, how much you're earning, and how much you can afford to pay in repayments.
It's enough to drive you crazy, even with a good pocket calculator!
That's where mortgage calculators can be incredibly useful.
They can take all the figures you have and turn them into outcomes.
You can change one variable (eg size of down payment) and know what effect that will have on your repayment.
And a mortgage calculator can do it in the blink of an eye.
Like most things to do with home loans, though, it's not as simple as one mortgage calculator that does one type of calculation.
Instead there are numerous different types of mortgage calculators, and some which combine more than one feature.
So it helps to know what exactly you want to mortgage calculator to calculate, so you can choose the right one.
Affordability calculator - this type of mortgage calculator basically determines what you can afford.
This is based on your current income and expenses.
Quite often with this type of calculator you can alter the amount of down payment you will be contributing, and see the effect it has on affordability.
Sometimes, if you're a bit close to the wire, putting in slightly more down payment will be enough to make the loan affordable.
Consolidating debt - these calculators look at the various options you have when consolidating debt, and how that will affect your home loan.
These options could include: merging non-mortgage debt (i.e. credit cards) into your existing mortgage, refinancing and existing mortgage and paying out a couple of extra debts at the same time, or perhaps a situation where you have both a first and second mortgage on a property and you want to work out the cheapest method of paying the loans out.
Payment calculator - basically, this mortgage calculator works out your monthly payment on a loan.
You can use this to determine what effect a change in interest rates might have on your payment, whether you would be paying more or less if you swapped to a fixed rate loan, whether paying fortnightly will make a difference, and so on.
Additional Payment calculator - mostly this is used for determining the effect of a one time lump sum payment, but can also be used to work out the effect of a regular extra payment, say $100 a month.
You can adjust almost anything, including amounts, frequency of additional payments and interest rates.
Refinance calculator - this mortgage calculator is mostly used for comparing different mortgages to determine whether refinancing will save you money.
This particularly works well if you have more than one mortgage and want to merge them.
You can also factor in things like refinancing costs, for example what it will cost to pay out your existing loan.
If those costs are very high, it may not be worthwhile refinancing at all.
Amortization calculator - there are two types of amortization mortgage calculators.
One works out the savings a borrower makes on his tax based on the interest paid, and the other determines the appreciation of the mortgaged property.
Comparison calculator - this one is handy is you have two very similar mortgages to choose between.
Usually you can change different elements of each loan, such as interest rates or payment details, to see the effect.
Mostly mortgage brokers use this type of mortgage calculator when making their recommendations.
This is only the tip of the iceberg!
There are mortgage calculators for almost anything you can think of in regards to a home loan, but the ones above are certainly the most common.
If you visit any of the big lending companies online, such as Freddie Mac or Fannie May, you will be able to visit their interactive pages and do your calculations online.
Some other sites even allow you to download a mortgage calculator for free.
The important thing is to let a mortgage calculator do the work for you.
There's no point spending hours slaving over your calculator or setting up a spreadsheet, when an online mortgage calculator can do the same thing in seconds.
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Internet & Mortgage Calculations
"You've been approved!" The words you have always wanted to hear when you filled out the home loan application. It swirls through your mind the opportunities and memories you will cherish in your new home. Before you even start shopping for a home it is best to understand in real terms what you can afford. Your income level may make it tight for you every month to make the mortgage payment if you purchase too much home. You may wish to know how much the home may cost you before you sign your contract.
So you will need to be a financial calculator to figure out the monthly paper in real-terms. There is an easier way. The Internet has become the best place for mathematical equations and there are some great websites that will do the figures for you should you know the absolute basics of the transaction. Here are some of the factors that can help you determine what your monthly interest rate will be:
Bi-Weekly Mortgage Calculator - How Much Will it Save You?
Copyright 2006 Geoff Morris
Imagine if there was a way that could
help you could reduce the term of your mortgage by up to Five Years? Just think - if you could
reduce the term of your mortgage by up to five years earlier, then you could even retire earlier, or enjoy 5 years of better holidays, better cars...
What would you do with this advice- ignore it - and lose the chance to reduce your interest paid to those greedy Banks over a 25 year period - or grab something back for yourself?
What if all you had to do was to pay half your mortgage bi-weekly (fortnightly to our UK cousins) - and all these benefits would be yours...
Now, doing the math for bi-weekly mortgages might be too much of a hassle for the regular home buyer, but all a fortnightly mortgage is, is actually just your normal mortgage payment cut in half. Every other week, you pay one half of your normal mortgage payment.
Let's say for instance...
Auto Loan Calculator - The Fast and Easy Way to Calculate Your Finances when Purchasing a Car
Copyright 2006 Dean Shainin
Getting a car can be very exciting and yet be oh so nerve wracking. It's not just a matter of finding the car you want and paying for it. For some people who can actually afford to hand out the cash they can enjoy this pleasure, but for most people who are out in the market for a car, they don't have this luxury.
For many people looking for a new car or for a vehicle to replace their old ones, getting a car loan is an option they need to take. Buying a car on credit requires a lot of attention to details; there are interest rates, the monthly payments and tons of paperwork.
It is not advisable to just sign off on the loan without seeing if you can actually afford the monthly payments.
When calculating your monthly payments on your car loan you need to take many aspects into consideration. The amount of the car loan, interest rates, trade in value of your old car, outstanding loan of your old car (if any)...
Inverse Mortgage: Pays Off Your Mortgage in 12 Months - New Mortgage Pay Off System Reduces 15, 20, even 30 Year Mortgages to One Year - Zero Cost - Zero Risk
What is this New Inverse Mortgage all about? Mortgage Brokers are embracing this new innovation in mortgage financing.
This is not a mortgage cancellation or settlement program. This is about using what is probably your largest expense each month and eliminating it in less than a year. There is Zero Out-of-Pocket to participate.If you own your own home or currently rent, the Inverse Mortgage enables you to turn that monthly mortgage payment or monthly rental payment into an asset building tool. Buy a home, refinance a home, real estate, own a home, refi a home, first time buyer, home ownership, qualify for a house, low interest rate, rising interest rates, rising mortgage rates:
whatever your situation, you can apply this system because it has nothing to do with credit ratings.How it works:By just changing the timing of your monthly payment and investing about 10 hours of work, you can have your entire mortgage paid off, in full, in a matter of months.And if you rent,...