Mortgage Resources & FAQ

A monthly mortgage payment has up to five parts: principal and interest on the loan itself, property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, PMI (private mortgage insurance, only while your down payment or equity is under 20%), and HOA dues if the property has an association. Lenders often collect taxes and insurance in an escrow account alongside the loan payment. The calculator itemizes each part and totals them.

PMI is priced as a percentage of the loan amount per year, and the rate depends on your down payment: roughly 1.03% below 5% down, 0.875% from 5–10%, 0.625% from 10–15%, 0.375% from 15–20%, and no PMI at 20% or more. PMI is removable once your remaining balance falls to 80% of the home’s value. This calculator applies that schedule automatically and shows the projected removal date next to the PMI line.

A traditional lender guideline for affordability: spend at most 28% of gross monthly income on housing (mortgage payment, taxes, insurance, PMI, HOA), and at most 36% on all debt payments combined — housing plus car loans, student loans, and credit-card minimums. Whichever limit is lower sets your housing budget. Our affordability calculator uses editable 28/36 ratios and tells you which one is binding.

Yes — accelerated bi-weekly payments mean paying half your monthly payment every two weeks. Because there are 26 two-week periods in a year, you make the equivalent of 13 full monthly payments instead of 12. That extra payment goes straight to principal, which typically retires a 30-year loan about 4–5 years early and saves tens of thousands in interest. Switch the calculator’s Payment Frequency to Bi-weekly to see the effect on your own numbers.

Every extra dollar goes directly to principal, so all future interest is charged on a smaller balance. On a $308,000 loan at 6% for 30 years, an extra $200 per month pays the loan off about 6 years 8 months early and saves roughly $92,000 in interest alone. The calculator’s payoff-goal tool works backwards, too: pick a target payoff date and it computes the exact extra payment required.

Two numbers decide it: how much the monthly payment drops, and how long you’ll keep the loan. Divide the closing costs by the monthly savings to find the break-even point — stay past that month and the refinance pays for itself; sell or refinance again sooner and it never does. Watch the term, too: replacing 25 remaining years with a fresh 30-year loan can lower the payment yet raise the total interest you pay. Our refinance calculator computes the break-even point and lifetime difference for your exact numbers, with closing costs paid upfront or rolled into the loan.

A monthly (or bi-weekly) extra payment recurs every payment period from its start date. A yearly extra payment lands once a year on the anniversary of its start date — useful for tax refunds or bonuses. A one-time extra payment is a single lump sum on a date you choose, such as proceeds from selling something. All three reduce principal immediately on the date they apply, and the calculator supports combining them.

Upfront costs due at purchase besides the down payment: lender origination fees, title and escrow charges, appraisal and inspection fees, and prepaid taxes or insurance. They typically run 2–5% of the home price. They are paid in cash at closing — not financed in the loan — so the calculator counts them in your total cost of ownership but not in the monthly payment.

Property taxes: check the county assessor’s site or a recent listing for the actual figure; the U.S. average effective rate is roughly 1.1% of home value per year, but it ranges from about 0.3% to over 2% by state. Home insurance: get a quote, or estimate around 0.35% of home value per year as a starting point. The calculator accepts either a percentage of home value or an exact dollar amount for both.

A payment-by-payment breakdown of a loan showing how much of each payment goes to interest versus principal, and the balance remaining after each one. Early payments are mostly interest; the split flips over the life of the loan. The calculator shows a year-by-year table (expandable to months), a balance-over-time chart, and can export the full schedule to CSV.

It uses the standard amortization formula lenders use, and its results are tested to the cent against established reference calculators. Real-world offers will still differ: rates depend on your credit and market conditions, taxes and insurance change over time, and this calculator assumes a fixed rate with constant tax and insurance amounts. Treat results as reliable estimates for planning — not a loan quote or financial advice.