Using a Mortgage Calculator to Estimate Other Costs of Owning a Home
When youre planning on buying a new home, a mortgage calculator can help you get an estimate of what your monthly mortgage payment will be. But its important to remember that a good mortgage calculator isnt just about the principal and interest it also considers other costs related to buying a house.
The primary cost of buying a home is the down payment, which is usually 20 percent or more of the purchase price, but there are several other costs associated with homeownership that youll want to know about. These include property taxes, homeowners insurance and HOA fees.
A down payment is an extremely important factor when it comes to buying a home because it can affect your monthly mortgage payments, the amount of money youll pay in interest over the life of the loan and the total cost of ownership. There are a number of options for how much you can put down on your new home and our mortgage calculator will let you calculate it based on the type of loan you choose, your credit score, and the amount of time youll own the home.
Other mortgage costs relate to the interest rate that youll be paying on your loan, and these can vary significantly depending on the type of mortgage you choose. Some lenders offer lower-than-market interest rates, and if youre able to qualify for a low rate, it can save you a significant amount of money over the lifetime of your mortgage.
One way to save on the interest on your mortgage is by making extra payments toward the principal balance of your mortgage. If you can afford to do so, making extra mortgage payments each month can greatly reduce the overall amount of interest paid on your loan over the course of the loans term.
If youre thinking of refinancing your current mortgage, a mortgage calculator can also help you figure out how much you can save on interest by switching to a different type of loan and if its worth it. This type of refinancing can help you pay off your existing mortgage faster, reduce your overall interest costs and shorten the length of your loan term.
Alternatively, you can use this calculator to determine when youll have enough equity in your home to waive private mortgage insurance (PMI), which is an additional fee that youll pay on your mortgage if you dont have at least 20 percent of the purchase price in your pocket. This is a common strategy that many people employ to save on the interest on their mortgage, as well as to make it easier to sell their home when the time comes.
The mortgage calculator will also give you an amortization schedule, which shows you a complete breakdown of your mortgage payments each month by showing the principal and interest that goes to the bank and the total amount that you owe on your mortgage. This can be especially helpful when youre trying to plan out your mortgage repayment and understand how long it will take to pay off the mortgage in full.