How to use a Mortgage Calculator

To use a mortgage calculator, you will have to input a few details about the loan, including:

• Home price – the purchase price of the home.
• Down payment – this is the cash you pay upfront to buy a home. It is expressed as a percentage of the full loan amount. The amount of your down payment can affect your interest rate. The higher the down payment, the lower your interest rate normally is.
• Loan term – this is the amount of time you have to repay the loan. The longer the term, the lower your monthly payment, but the more interest you will pay overall. The shorter the loan term, the higher your monthly payment, and the less interest you will pay.
• Loan APR – the cost to borrow the money, expressed as a percentage of the loan.
• Property taxes – the annual tax you pay as a real estate property owner.
• Homeowner’s insurance – this is your annual cost to insure your home and personal belongings against theft, fire, natural disasters, personal liability claims, and other situations.
• HOA fees – the monthly amount you pay to your homeowner’s association, if applicable.

You can use our mortgage calculator to easily figure out your monthly mortgage payment. If you are interested in doing the calculations yourself, here is a common formula to use:

Calculation

P = Principal Loan Amount
i = Monthly Interest Rate
n = Number of months required to pay the loan

How Can a Mortgage Payment Calculator Help You?

A mortgage payment calculator can be extremely helpful when figuring out how much home you can afford. A great mortgage calculator can:

• Help you estimate your monthly mortgage payment
• Factor in other home costs
• Narrow down your home search
• Allow you to try out different scenarios
• Show you how different loan types compare to one another