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How Much Can You Afford? ...
How Much Can You Afford?
The first step in buying a house is determining your budget. This calculator steps you through the process of finding out how much you can borrow. Fill in the entry fields and click on the "View Report" button to see a complete amortization schedule of your mortgage payments.
Definitions
- Annual income
- Your annual income before taxes. For married couples this is your total combined annual income before taxes.
- Purchase price
- The price of the home you wish to purchase. This is the actual price you'll pay, not including any closing costs.
- Total monthly payment
- Total monthly payment that you can qualify for. This is the total of principal, interest, taxes and insurance paid each month. Often called PITI.
- Cash on hand
- Cash you have for the down payment and all closing costs.
- Interest rate
- The current annual interest rate you can receive on your mortgage.
- Term in years
- The number of years over which you will repay this loan. The most common mortgage terms are 15 years and 30 years.
- Property tax rate
- Your property tax rate. 1% for a $100,000 home equals $1,000 per year in property taxes.
- Home insurance rate
- Your homeowner's insurance rate. 0.5% for a $100,000 home equals $500 per year for homeowner's insurance.
- Monthly car payment(s)
- Total monthly payment for your car loan(s).
- Credit card payments
- Total monthly minimum payments for your credit cards.
- Other loan payments
- Any other installment loan payments, such as student loans or unsecured loans.
- Total closing costs
- Total upfront costs to close your loan. This is the total of your loan origination fee, points paid and other closing costs.
- Loan origination rate
- The percentage the lending institution charges for its origination fee. 1% for a $100,000 home equals $1,000.
- Number of points paid
- The total number of points paid to reduce the interest rate of your mortgage. Each point costs 1% of your mortgage balance.
- Other closing costs
- Estimate of all other closing costs for this loan. This should include filing fees, appraiser fees and any other miscellaneous fees paid.
- Monthly PMI payment
- Monthly cost of Principal Mortgage Insurance (PMI). For loans secured with less than 20% down, PMI is estimated at 0.5% of your loan balance each year. Monthly PMI is calculated by multiplying your starting loan balance by this percent and dividing by 12. When the equity in your home exceeds the percentage required for PMI, your PMI payment drops to zero. Please note that this is only an estimate of your actual PMI. The amount you may be required to pay may be higher or lower than our estimate.
- Monthly PI payment
- Monthly principal and interest payment.
- Total for down payment
- Total funds remaining, after closing costs, for down payment.
- Limit down payment
- Limit your down payment to percentage required to eliminate the need for PMI payments. Even if you have more cash on hand than required for closing costs checking this box will limit your down payment to the minimum amount required to forego PMI.
- Show schedule by month
- Display the payment schedule by month when you press the "View Report" button.
- Show schedule by year
- Display the payment schedule by year when you press the "View Report" button.
- Total annual income debt percentage
- Not shown. This is the percentage of your annual income your financial institution allows you to use for debt installment payments. This includes car payments, credit card payments, other loan payments and your "Principal, Interest, Tax and Insurance" payment for your home. The default rate is 36%.
- PITI annual income percentage
- Not shown. This is the percentage of your annual income your financial institution allows you to use for your "Principal, Interest, Tax and Insurance" payment for your home. The default rate is 28%.
- Qualify amount
- Shown as "Total monthly payment." This is the total amount you qualify for per month. This amount is the total of "Principal, Interest, Tax and Insurance" for your home.
The mortgage calculators are provided by KJE Computer Solutions, LLC and made available to NUMBER1EXPERT as self-help tools for your independent use and are not intended to provide investment advice. We can't guarantee their applicability or accuracy in regards to your individual circumstances. All examples are hypothetical and are for illustrative purposes. We encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding all personal finance issues.
Selling Your Home >House Odors
What is "H.O."? You can probably guess--it means "house odors".
Be careful of odors in your home. If your family room smells stuffy and stale, or if your cat or dog has left a distinctive odor in the hallway, take action by eliminating the source of the odor rather than merely treating the effects.
Smells have a powerful effect on the way people react to a house, and no amount of room freshener or vanilla on the light bulbs can mask a serious odor problem. In fact, such remedies may draw attention to the problem. Real estate agents have seen homes with an odor problem languish unsold on the market for months or sell for significantly less than comparable homes in the neighborhood.
If you think that you may have a problem, talk candidly with your real estate agent. Your agent should be able to offer some constructive suggestions, and perhaps refer you to a professional who can help banish H.O. from your home!
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| Q |
Who is "Fannie Mae" and why is she a big name in real estate?
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| A |
"Fannie Mae" is the real estate industry nickname for FNMA, or Federal National Mortgage Association, the stockholder-owned corporation that purchases mortgages from mortgage lenders. |
 See More Real Estate Trivia > |
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