Mortgage Calculator: Idaho Loan Cost Estimates to Help You Budget

Published:
August 3, 2022
Last updated:
September 21, 2023
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If you are thinking about buying a home in Idaho, a mortgage calculator can help you accurately estimate the costs of buying and owning a home, including fees and payments for things you might not have considered.

With a mortgage calculator, Idaho loan costs get a lot easier to estimate. It’s usually best to start with a free rate quote, so you can gain some insight into many of your base costs like your anticipated interest rate. Then you can plug all of the information into the calculator to find out how much home you can afford and what your mortgage payment will look like.

Mortgage Calculator Basics

Homebuyers looking at houses in Idaho may need a mortgage to afford their new home. A whopping 86% of all homebuyers – including the majority of first-time home buyers – need a loan to buy their home.

What you’ll pay in interest over the life of your loan can be quickly ascertained with a mortgage calculator, and you can use different settings to adjust parameters and figure out how to save money over the life of your loan.

What Is a Mortgage Calculator?

A mortgage calculator is a tool you can use to get information about the financial aspects of your mortgage. An online mortgage calculator lets you add information to separate fields then run the equation to find out what you want to know about your upcoming home loan.

You can change things like the home price you expect to pay, the down payment you can afford, and the interest rate you think you can get to find out how these factors will influence our final payoff amount and monthly mortgage payments.

Why Should You Use a Mortgage Calculator?

It’s tempting to say “It costs what it costs” and just hand over your life savings as a down payment, but this would be a mistake. Using a mortgage calculator can help you understand all of the costs included in buying a home.

The information you can get from a mortgage calculator can help you budget for the best scenario for you – whether that is a home loan that lets you get into a house and pay it off in the shortest amount of time possible with the lowest interest cost, or a home loan that is affordable and gives you the lowest possible monthly payment.

How Does a Mortgage Calculator Work?

A mortgage calculator uses an algorithm to crunch the data you give it and spit out answers to questions like:

  • “What price range can I afford?”
  • “How much will my monthly payment be?”
  • “What is the total I will pay in interest?”

How accurate the results are will depend on how accurate your input data is and how much info you provide.

What Data Does a Mortgage Calculator Need?

At minimum, you need the following data to get a clear picture of your home loan costs using a mortgage calculator.

  • The home price
  • The down payment
  • The estimated interest rate
  • The desired monthly payment

You can get more accurate results if you give the calculator more info, like:

  • The loan program type
  • Estimated property taxes
  • Estimated home insurance payments
  • Anticipated HOA fees
  • Projected private mortgage insurance (PMI)payments

How to Use a Mortgage Calculator

There are several ways to use a mortgage calculator in Idaho.

First, you can enter your loan type as the starting point. The most common types of loan include::

  • Conventional
  • FHA
  • VA

When the computer gives you results, these will include an amortization schedule. This is a list that shows every single payment date and amount, from your first to your last payment over the life of your loan. It also splits out each payment into principal and interest subsections.

You can change your starting point to get different views or find out answers to different questions.

  • Price: Start with the approximate home purchase price amount and you’ll be able to get your monthly payment and loan payoff date.
  • Affordability: Start with the approximate down payment amount and you’ll be able to get an idea of how much home you can afford.
  • Payments: Start with an approximate monthly payment, and you’ll be able to get an idea of what loan program might work best for you. Change to a biweekly payment and you’ll see cost savings thanks to a faster loan payoff.

Mortgage Rates In Idaho

Mortgage rates in Idaho will vary a lot depending on your down payment, credit, and debt to income (DTI) and loan to value (LTV) ratios as well as the lender you use. A mortgage bank with salaried loan officers can mean unbiased and focused help in finding the best mortgage rate and loan program for your needs.

Ask for a free rate quote from a reputable lender, and compare it with quotes from other lenders to make sure you’re getting the best deal, and make sure to match across all variables so you’re comparing apples to apples.  Some lenders advertise rates that really only apply if you have perfect credit and a 20% down payment!

Live Idaho Mortgage Rates

Loan Limits In Idaho

It’s important to consider loan limits when you take out a loan for a property, since these vary county by county. As of January 1, 2023, there were increases in both conforming loan limits and FHA loan limits. 

In most counties in Idaho, the conforming loan limit for 2023 is $726,200, and the FHA loan limit ranges from $472,030 to $$1,089,300.

Get a Free Rate Quote and More

Ready to start figuring out what being a homeowner looks like?

Try out our free rate quote tool. You don’t have to supply your name or email, and can get a mortgage rate quote based just on your zip code. Then add your data to the free  mortgage calculator– again, no personal info required.

Apply for mortgage preapproval online to confirm exactly how much you’re approved for. One of our salary-based loan officers will be able to help you if needed. Take your preapproval letter with you when you start your house hunt. Idaho home sellers will generally respect a preapproval letter more than a simple prequalification.

Finally, ask us about our Diamond Homebuyer program. It’s also free for our mortgage applicants, and includes extra help during the homebuying process. We’ll help you plan for an appraisal gap, call the home seller on your behalf to assure them your offer is solid, underwrite your loan up front, and set a tight closing window – as short as three weeks – to help you get your offer accepted.

Get an Instant Mortgage Rate Quote Today

Why Choose Sammamish Mortgage?

At Sammamish Mortgage, we make homebuying easy. Once you’ve secured your desired home and obtained the mortgage you need to make your home purchase happen, we continue to support you throughout your homeownership journey with helpful blogs like this one.

Sammamish Mortgage has been in business since 1992, and has assisted many homebuyers in the Pacific Northwest. If you are looking for mortgage financing in Colorado, we can help you get preapproved. Sammamish Mortgage offers mortgage programs in Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

Contact a loan officer if you have any mortgage-related questions or concerns. If you are ready to move forward, you can view rates, obtain a customized instant rate quote, or apply instantly directly from our website.

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