Mortgage Rate Calculators - Use It And Save Money On Your Home Loan
Kate Ford
June 09, 2009
Homeowners repeatedly request information about home mortgage rate calculators.
What is a home mortgage calculator? What does a mortgage loan calculator do? Why is a mortgage payment calculator different from a common calculator? How does a mortgage home calculator work? Who benefits from a mortgage amortization calculator?
Keep reading. At the conclusion of this article I am going to reveal a secret that could save you more than $100,000.
Here are the basics to consider.
In its simplest terms a mortgage is simply a loan secured by real estate. After the last payment from the homeowner, the property is free of encumbrance.
Refinancing and home purchase mortgages are charged interest by the lending institution. Usually this interest is expressed as a percent such a 5% per year (annually).
Mortgage interest can be paid many different ways such as interest only payments in which the borrower pays only the interest but reduces none of the principal until a later date. Principal means the face amount of the home loan or the amount you still owe.
Most home mortgage loans in the United States are amortized. That is why mortgage applicants attempting to figure future payments with a common calculator get discouraged.
Amortization is simply a way of reducing a mortgage debt through monthly payments of principal and interest. That's why mortgage rate calculators should actually be called amortization calculators.
A mortgage amortization calculator can figure your monthly payment if you know three things.
1) First you must know the term of the loan. Term refers to the period of time required to pay off the loan, for example 30 years, 15 years, or 40 years.
2) Second you must know the annual interest rate required to borrow on your mortgage. This is sometimes called the nominal rate (named rate) and is the not the same as APR (annual percentage rate).
3) Third you must know the principal or in plain language the amount of money you want to borrow.
If you know these three things you can solve for PI. "P" stands for principal and "I" stands for interest. PI is normally expressed as a monthly mortgage payment of principal and interest.
As long as you have at least 3 out of 4 factors (term, interest rate, principal, payment) you can solve for the remaining factor.
Some online mortgage payment calculators have a feature that lets the amortization schedule be viewed and printed. An amortization schedule is simply a spread sheet showing monthly and/or annual payments. You can even see how much interest is being paid each month and the amount of principal you are paying down.
Did you recall my promise to share a secret with you? Here it is!
When you make your mortgage payment, it isn't divided up equally between principal and interest. In the beginning of the mortgage term, a home owner pays far more in interest. Only a minimal portion of the mortgage borrowed is reduced.
That is why borrowers feel disappointed when they look at their statements in the early years of the loan. But amortization used the right way can be beneficial.
By merely paying whatever extra you can afford on a monthly basis toward the balance of the loan, the balance can be significantly decreased. This process can knock years or even decades off the term of your loan.
What you get in return can often mean an interest savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
What is a home mortgage calculator? What does a mortgage loan calculator do? Why is a mortgage payment calculator different from a common calculator? How does a mortgage home calculator work? Who benefits from a mortgage amortization calculator?
Keep reading. At the conclusion of this article I am going to reveal a secret that could save you more than $100,000.
Here are the basics to consider.
In its simplest terms a mortgage is simply a loan secured by real estate. After the last payment from the homeowner, the property is free of encumbrance.
Refinancing and home purchase mortgages are charged interest by the lending institution. Usually this interest is expressed as a percent such a 5% per year (annually).
Mortgage interest can be paid many different ways such as interest only payments in which the borrower pays only the interest but reduces none of the principal until a later date. Principal means the face amount of the home loan or the amount you still owe.
Most home mortgage loans in the United States are amortized. That is why mortgage applicants attempting to figure future payments with a common calculator get discouraged.
Amortization is simply a way of reducing a mortgage debt through monthly payments of principal and interest. That's why mortgage rate calculators should actually be called amortization calculators.
A mortgage amortization calculator can figure your monthly payment if you know three things.
1) First you must know the term of the loan. Term refers to the period of time required to pay off the loan, for example 30 years, 15 years, or 40 years.
2) Second you must know the annual interest rate required to borrow on your mortgage. This is sometimes called the nominal rate (named rate) and is the not the same as APR (annual percentage rate).
3) Third you must know the principal or in plain language the amount of money you want to borrow.
If you know these three things you can solve for PI. "P" stands for principal and "I" stands for interest. PI is normally expressed as a monthly mortgage payment of principal and interest.
As long as you have at least 3 out of 4 factors (term, interest rate, principal, payment) you can solve for the remaining factor.
Some online mortgage payment calculators have a feature that lets the amortization schedule be viewed and printed. An amortization schedule is simply a spread sheet showing monthly and/or annual payments. You can even see how much interest is being paid each month and the amount of principal you are paying down.
Did you recall my promise to share a secret with you? Here it is!
When you make your mortgage payment, it isn't divided up equally between principal and interest. In the beginning of the mortgage term, a home owner pays far more in interest. Only a minimal portion of the mortgage borrowed is reduced.
That is why borrowers feel disappointed when they look at their statements in the early years of the loan. But amortization used the right way can be beneficial.
By merely paying whatever extra you can afford on a monthly basis toward the balance of the loan, the balance can be significantly decreased. This process can knock years or even decades off the term of your loan.
What you get in return can often mean an interest savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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