Down Payment

The most common downpayments range anywere from 0% up to 20%. Some buyer's even put down more than 20% because your down payment reduces your monthly mortgage payments. Please be aware, depending on what type of loan you have and if you put down less than 20% your loan may also have to pay monthly for PMI (Explained later).

PMI

Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is an often overlooked portion of a monthly mortgage payment. The majority of your monthly payment is made up of PITI (principal, interest, taxes, and insurance). However, with certain loan types and/or down payments that are less than 20% the mortgage lender may add PMI as an additional monthly cost. PMI is additional insurance that protects the mortgage lender in case you default on the loan. 

Loan Term

The length of your loan can affect your interest rate and monthly payments. Choose from 30-year fixed, 15-year fixed, and more in our calculator. The shorter the loan term the higher the payment. The longer the loan term, the lower the payment. A shorter loan term will mean less interest paid over the lifetime of the loan.

Loan Type

There are several types of mortgage loans, but the most commonly used are fixed-rate and adjustable-rate loans. Fixed-rate loans have the same interest rate for the entire duration of the loan. Think back to our acronym of PITI (principal, interest, taxes and insurance). If you have a 30 year fixed rate mortgage that means for the entire 30 year loan term your interest rate will stay the same. This will lead to the principal and interest portion of your monthly payment totaling the same amount over the course of 30 years (30 year "fixed" mortgage). Taxes and insurance vary from year to year and cannot be fixed. Two benefits to this loan type are stability, and being able to calculate your total interest up front. Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) have interest rates that can change over time. Typically they start out at a lower interest rate than a fixed-rate loan, and hold that rate for a set number of years, before changing interest rates from year to year. For example, if you have a 5/1 ARM, you will have the same interest rate for the first 5 years, and then your interest rate will change from year to year. The main benefit of an adjustable-rate loan is starting off with a lower interest rate.

Interest Rate

This field is pre-filled so be sure to update this number. Everyone's interest rate is different based on credit score, down payment, loan type, etc. Please get your unique interest rate from your mortgage lender. If you would like a general idea of the interest rate market you can checkout https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/.

Property Tax Rate

The mortgage payment calculator includes estimated property taxes based on the home's value. You can edit this in the advanced options. Every city, county, and state has different tax rates. Please be aware when you purchase a home that taxes may increase.

Home Insurance

This field is pre-filled. Home insurance or homeowners insurance is typically required by lenders, depending on the loan program. You can edit this number in the mortgage calculator advanced options. Please get a quote from your home insurance provider and use the quoted amount in our calculator.

HOA Fees

A homeowners association fee (HOA fee) is an amount of money that must be paid monthly by owners of certain types of residential properties, and HOAs collect these fees to assist with maintaining and improving properties in the association. HOA fees are most common in townhome or condo communities. However, many single family neighborhoods also have an HOA fee.