Happy Homeowner Tip: Track Mortgage Amortization & Pre-Payment Effects
12/19/2008
The 'Principle': Every Little Bit Counts
Despite the news these days, I am pretty certain that there are a few people out there who are current on their mortgage, plan to stay that way, and continue to manage their financial lives with some degree of responsibility. Actually, I talk to people like you every day in person, on the phone and online.
Some of my friends over at Pocono Commuter Club recently discussed online mortgage calculators and we found a few that look pretty helpful. These are not plain-old versions that help a potential home buyer determine monthly payments based on a certain sale price and interest rate, but rather these are a little more sophisticated as they allow you to enter extra payments and calculate how this affects your payoff date and interest paid.
You see, people who know how to manage their money realize that even a small extra payment on your mortgage now and then can save you lots of money and time off the life of your loan, and increase your equity faster. And a homeowner with equity is happy indeed!
Calculate Your Savings of Money & Time
So, if you make regular extra principle payments on your mortgage, or even just throw a few extra bucks in whenever you can, check these mortgage calculators out. Or, if you are wondering if it is even worthwhile to go to the trouble of making an extra payment or two a year (it is!), enter your information and see how beneficial it is to pre-pay on your mortgage loan. Even if you aren't now or don't plan on prepaying your loan, you may want to generate an amortization schedule to keep track of where you stand.
All you need to know is your loan term (30 year, 15 year, etc), interest rate, amount borrowed (loan amount) and the dates you want to work with. For example, if you want to track your principle and interest payments over the life of your mortgage, use the original figures and dates from when you obtained the loan. If you want to start from now, you can do that too...just check your monthly statement for what you owe and go from there.
Handy Mortgage Calculating Tools
This calculator looks like it would be the most flexible and easy to use for most circumstances. If you like to compare and make your own choice, try this one or this one.
Please note: I do not recommend you use any of these sites to apply for a new loan, refinance, etc. You will see lots of links and offers on some of the pages but do not be tempted. Best practice (especially in today's rocky lending environment) when shopping for a mortgage is to get recommendations of local lenders from your friendly real estate agent or some other trusted source. Feel free to call 570.421.8950 ext. 394 or email me [email protected] to discuss your needs and get a customized recommendation based on your situation.
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