Free Home Mortgage Calculators
From LoveToKnow Mortgage
Buying a house, whether it’s your first or your fortieth, is a time consuming process, but free home mortgage calculators can help ease the strain. Some of the biggest questions home buyers have are how much house they can afford and how much the mortgage will be. Calculators can help, but where can you find one? What information do you need to have before using one? What information can one provide you with? And just how accurate are they?
Where Can You Find Free Home Mortgage Calculators?
If you do a search on the Internet, you’ll find thousands of links for free home mortgage calculators. Not all of them are created equally, however.
The first thing to do is to make sure the calculators are really free. Even if they don’t charge money, some of them require you to register or provide your personal information. This information is then passed on to loan companies who will call you. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but if you aren’t ready for the phone calls and spam that will result from your “free” calculation, run, don’t walk, away from the site.
The second thing to do is to do is see who is offering the free home mortgage calculator. Is it a reputable business? Have you heard of the business before? Does the website look professional? Don’t waste your time on a calculator that you have any doubts about - while you might get what you pay for, there are still levels of “free.”
What Information Do You Need to Provide?
You need to know the amount of the loan, an approximate interest rate, the number of years you plan on having the mortgage (15 years? 30 years?), and what type of loan you’re looking for. The two most common types are fixed and adjustable rate (ARM). Many of the free online mortgage calculators will not give you the option to see a payment amount for anything but a standard, fixed rate. That’s not necessarily a problem - it just means that you will normally only get an idea, not a definite answer. If you’re in the beginning to look phase, that should be more than enough. If it’s not, you may need to contact a mortgage broker or company to find out more.
Some additional things that are handy to know include your credit score and the current interest rates. You can get your credit report for free once a year if you request it from Annual Credit Report. The credit report itself is free, but if you want to know your exact credit score, you will need to purchase it.
The current interest rate is easy to find, although it will also vary. One place to find it is Bankrate.com. The current rate is subject to change, especially if your credit score is not high. When using the interest rate in a free online mortgage calculator, be sure to create a range based on the current rate so you don’t assume the best or the worst.
What Information Can Free Home Mortgage Calculators Provide?
It can give you a range of numbers for the start of your search. For those that aren’t familiar with how mortgages work, it’s a great place to start. It can tell you approximately how much you will pay per month for your interest and principal payment, how much you will pay in interest over the life of the loan, and how much your final repayment total will be if you keep the mortgage for its life.
How Accurate are Free Calculators?
Unfortunately, they aren’t completely accurate. One thing free home mortgage calculators can’t tell you is how much you’ll be paying into escrow every month. Escrow payment include insurance and taxes, and most mortgages will require escrow. Because insurance requirements and taxes vary from area to area, it’s impossible for the calculator to give you an accurate number. You will need to do research on your own to find out about your escrow payment. Be warned - in some cases, escrow payments can be equal to or greater than the principal and interest payment. Some calculators do give you the ability to calculate these items, but you need to have the information to provide before you can get your answers.
Example Calculators
While free online mortgage calculators may not be perfect, they are a good place to start. The information they provide can help if you’re just starting out on the home buying journey.
Comments
Michael, thank you for the comments. Mortgage 101 also features mortgage applications which are distributed to several lenders for applicants who would like to compare several interest rates at once.
-- Contributed by: Tamsen ButlerAnother place that has some good mortgage calculators is Mortgage101. They have 16 interactive mortgage calculators that can help you understand your mortgage payment schedule, if you should refinance your home and many other mortgage scenarios
-- Contributed by: MichaelThis page has been accessed 1,120 times. This page was last modified 18:36, 1 December 2007.
© 2006-2008 LoveToKnow Corp.
