Mortgage Loan Calculators

There are many Mortgage Calculators on the internet for you to use. I have collected links to over 40 different Mortgage Calculators. So you first need to decide what question you want the mortgage calculator to answer. I have broken this article's contents down in to the major types of Mortgage Calculators and major questions that a mortgage calculator can answer. Questions like What would my Mortgage Payment be?, How much House can I Afford?, Should I Refinance My Mortgage?, Would a Cash Out Refi Save me Money?, Should I Rent or Buy a House?, etc. This article should point you to the right mortgage calculator for your needs.

Mortgage Payment Calculators

There are many mortgage payment calculators on the internet that allow you to calculate your mortgage payment. The three most important factors in calculating your mortgage payment are the loan amount, the mortgage interest rate and the length of the loan. All mortgage calculators have to have these three inputs in order to calculate your mortgage payment. The mortgage calculators that just have these three inputs are called simple mortgage calculators because they are leaving out many things like taxes and insurance.

Mortgage Amortization Calculators

Mortgage Amortization is "the process of paying off a loan by gradually reducing the balance through a series of installment payments"¹. These Mortgage Amortization Calculators range from simple where you can input the loan amount, the interest rate and the term to a detailed mortgage amortization calculator that that allows you to determine tax savings on your interest paid given your tax rate.

How Much House Can I Afford?

People ask the question, How much house can I afford? when they are thinking of purchasing a home. These mortgage calculators help you answer that question. I really like the Ginnie Mae calculator titled How Much Home Can You Afford. With the Ginnie Mae calculator you put in your gross income which can include your salary, tips, bonuses & commissions and your monthly debt information including your financial obligations like credit card payments, car payment, and other monthly obligations like student loans, child support, etc. Then you hit the Get Estimate button and Ginnie Mae gives you three loan estimates. A FHA Regular Loan example, a VA Regular Loan example and a Conventional Loan example with all sorts of information like loan amount, monthly mortgage payment, downpayment, closing costs and total cost required at closing. They also have a Detailed Estimate button at the bottom of this screen that will give you even more information. I recommend checking out the Ginnie Mae "How Much Home Can You Afford Mortgage Calculator!"

Mortgage Refinance Calculators

The main reason to consider refinancing your mortgage is to save money on your current mortgage payments. However you need to consider many facts before you think about refinancing your mortgage and whether it make sense to refinance such as:.There are many Mortgage Refinance Calculators that allow you to do what if'ing on your current mortgage to see if it is worth pursuing a refinance of your mortgage at this time

Reverse Mortgage Calculators

A Reverse Mortgage is "a mortgage loan in which the lender makes periodic payments to the borrower in return for an increasing equity interest in the home. Reverse Mortgages are typically made to retirees who own their residences outright".¹ A Reverse Mortgage Calculator is a place to start in deciding if a reverse mortgage is good for you. Below there are reverse mortgage calculators from AARP, MetLife and others. I would also suggest looking at the link Reverse Mortgage Education Center to learn more about the benefits and risks of taking out a Reverse Mortgage. Reverse Mortgages can be a great way to tap your homes equity in retirement but please watch out for various Reverse Mortgage Scams. You should read the FTC.gov'sReverse Mortgage: Get the Facts Before Cashing in Your Home's Equity.

Interest Only Mortgage Calculators

"The Interest Only Mortgage Calculators can give you a good idea what your mortgage payment would be if you decided on taking out an interest only mortgage. Interest Only Mortgage's can be a good idea when you feel your income will increase substatially in the future and a interest only mortgage allows you to afford a larger mortgage now , or your income is irregular like a commission job and you want the ability to make minimum payments when your income is low and higher payments during your higher income periods. However Interest Only Mortgage's are not right for everyone because there can be a ""Payment Shock"" after the interest only period is over, you are not paying down your principal with an interest only mortgage and under certain cercomstances you may have ""negative amortization"" and your principal balance could rise. The Federal Reserve has a good article about Interest Only Mortgages and Option ARMs that go over many of the benefits and risks of Interest Only Mortgages."

Mortgage Payoff Calculators

A Mortgage Payoff Calculator lets you find out how much money you can save on your mortgage by making extra payments on your mortgage. So for example if you had a $100,000 dollar 30 Year mortgage at 6% you would be paying around $600 per month. What happens if you decide to pay an additional $100 dollars a month on your mortgage? You will shorten your mortgage by 9 years and save around $40,000 dollars in interest. These are great calculators to play around with if you have some extra money to put towards your mortgage payments.

Rent vs. Buy Calculators

These Rent vs Buy Calculators help you answer the age old question of Should I buy a house or rent. Well obviously that depends on your situation. I like the Ginnie Mae calculator. The Ginnie Mae Rent vs. Buy Calculator has you input your: then you click on the Calculate Button and Ginnie Mae gives you an estimate of how much you can save buy buying a house. Ginnie assumes your tax rate is 28% so if you have a much different tax rate you can try a different Rent vs Buy Calculator that allows you to choose your own tax rate.

Arm Mortgage Calculators

Adjustable-Rate Mortgage is "a mortgage loan that allows a lender to adjust periodically the interest rate in accordance with a specified index agreed to at the start of the loan".¹ ARMs are difficult mortgages to estimate your exact costs over the loan. The interest rate obviously can change and allow you to be better or worse off vs a fixed rate loan. A ARM Mortgage Calculator allows you to estimate what your payments might be over time with various assumptions your put in. In addition to the normal issues like mortgage amount, and loan term ARM Mortgage Calculators require certain assumptions such as: So an ARM can have advantages if rates stay down but you need to do some analysis with a ARM Mortgage Calculator to see if you can afford your mortgage if rates rise.

Bi Weekly Mortgage Calculators

Bi Weekly Mortgages allow you to pay your mortgage more often and thereby save interest on your payments and pay off your mortgage earlier. These Bi Weekly Mortgage Calculators allow you to see what those interest saving might be from paying your mortgage Bi Weekly. Also remember that that with a Bi Weekly Mortgage you will be making 26 payments a year. So if you miss a payment or forget it you might get bank charges or late fees. Also you are effectively paying an extra mortgage payment each year. 26 / 2 = 13 monthly payments verses 12 monthly payments for a regular mortgage during a year. You could just make extra prepayments on your monthly mortgage and get the same effect. Also be aware of Bi-Weekly Mortgage Payment Companies that are not connected with your lender.

Cash Out Refinance Calculators

Cash Out Refinance Calculators allow you to see where consolidating some of you debt, like credit card debt, into you home mortgage can save you significant money. Because you can usually get a much better interest rate on a home loan than on credit card debt. Also you should look at Home Equity Loans or Home Equity Line of Credits can compare their rates with a Cash Out Refi to find out which is a better deal for you.

15 vs 30 Year Mortgage Calculators

A 15 Year vs 30 Year Mortgage Calculator can help you with the decision of which mortgage is better for you. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of each type of mortgage from Ginnie Mae.²

How to Use a Mortgage Calculator

These 3 articles and 1 video from Bankrate.com are useful in helping you understand How to use a Mortgage Calculator? and Why you might need a Mortgage Calculator! Their reasons for using a mortgage calculator include planning an early pay off of your mortgage, deciding when you can drop your mortgage insurance and finding out if an Adjustable Rate Mortgage is right for you. Then they bring up the general questions of finding out How Much House You Can Afford!, Should you do a Cash-Out Refi?, and Should you Rent or Buy Now?. Finally they have a short video titled, "How to Use a Mortgage Calculator", that takes you through using the Bankrate.com mortgage calculator.