Math has always been my least favorite subject and if you are like me you need a Mortgage Calculator to learn what you can afford?
Whether it came to pre-algebra, geometry, or even calculating a tip on a restaurant bill, I can’t be bothered to do any math beyond simple calculations.
Recently we’ve started looking at buying a house for our growing family, but I’ve been having a hard time making sense of all matters mortgage-related.
Don’t get me started on the amount of math or calculations involved.
I needed to find a tool that would help me figure out what I could afford and what my payments would be, but so many seemed overly complicated or unnecessary.
The best I’ve found by far is MortgageCalculators.info
The reason I love this website so much is not only because it is so comprehensive (there are over a dozen different calculators), but because it also has a Renting or Buying Calculator that is really useful for my situation.
As a first-time home buyer, I wanted to make sure we were ready to make this significant transition from renting to buying.
It seems like a huge jump in expenses to go from a rental to owning a property, but that doesn’t have to be the case.
This calculator estimates the loan size you could pay for given your current monthly rental payment.
The calculator automatically subtracts the cost of property taxes & homeowners insurance from your rent amount to come up with the equivalent loan size.
For example, if your rent is $1,500 per month and insurance and property taxes would cost $100 & $200 per month respectively, this calculator will figure out what size loan would have the equivalent $1,200 monthly principal & interest payment.
When using the Mortgage Calculators visit the Bank of Canada website for current interest rates posted by the major charter banks.
I appreciate the attention to detail in the information provided within this calculator.
How do You Know if You Need Private Mortgage Insurance?
The Renting or Buying Calculator specifically helped me learn about another cost that was I was unaware of known as PMI or private mortgage insurance (link to https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-private-mortgage-insurance-en-122/).
For conventional mortgages where the buyer puts less than 20% down, the buyer will likely be required to pay for PMI, or private mortgage insurance, in addition to their regular monthly home payment until they build up at least 20% equity in their home.
This is an annual insurance policy paid monthly in your mortgage payment.
This insurance policy protects the lender in case of default and is automatically removed when you build up a certain percentage of equity in your home.
If we decide to buy a home on a tight budget (i.e. with less than 20% down), we will have to factor the cost of the private mortgage insurance into our monthly costs for home ownership.
After using the calculator, I quickly realized with PMI that we would pay more than what we could afford for a house we thought was within our budget.
In my eyes, this is simply another sign we need to wait until we have a larger down payment saved.
MortgageCalculators.info Has All The FREE Calculators You Need
This calculator is an excellent example of the rest of the calculators available on MortgageCalculators.info with its wide range in functionality and specificity.
There are basic and advanced versions of this calculator and most of the others available so that you can custom tailor the calculations on the information you know and the results you’re looking for.
Whether you want to learn more about the types of calculations associated with mortgages or do a highly specific and detailed calculation, MortgageCalculators.info is an amazing resource that helps you find the information you require to meet your mortgage needs.
