Work forward based on the price of the home you want to figure out your best loan term and potential monthly payment.
Use your down payment and monthly budget to discover how much home you can afford, then save up to $3000 by comparing top lender quotes.
Input your monthly payment to discover what kind of loan will work best for you, then fill out an application with a lender to verify the estimate.
Pay every other week instead of once a month and save thousands over your loan term by reducing the principal amount quickly.
You can input the amount you plan to offer for the home of your dreams or run the numbers based on the home list price.
Take your savings, deduct the amount you’ll need for closing costs, and what’s left will serve you as a down payment.
Remember that your interest rate will vary depending on the lender you choose, your loan program, and your credit score.
Depending on the type of loan you get (FHA, VA, USDA, or conventional), your finances will be impacted differently.
The assessed value of the home multiplied by the local tax rate will give you the estimated amount of your property tax.
Home value and location will both impact how much you will have to pay for home insurance to protect your investment.
Monthly Private Mortgage Insurance
You’ll need to pay PMI ranging from 0.5% to 2% of the loan amount if your down payment amounts to less than 20% of the home price.
A homeowners association (HOA) will charge monthly or annual dues, so find out if your home is located in an affected neighborhood.
Additional Principal Payment
If you can make a larger than required payment every month, the additional funds can go to reduce your loan principal.
Divide your annual income by 12 months to arrive at the monthly income that will be used when determining your ability to repay.
Add all recurring expenses or payments that you owe every month (like credit card bills or auto loan payments) to arrive at your monthly debt.
Compare your monthly income and monthly debt to find out what your debt to income (DTI) ratio is, the lower this number is, the better.
A bigger monthly payment means you’ll pay off your loan more quickly, cutting years and interest costs off your mortgage.
If you make half of a mortgage payment every other week, it works out to a whole extra mortgage payment every year.
Ask your mortgage company to provide you with your amortization schedule so you can learn your estimated payoff date.