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Amortization Schedule Breakdown and Understanding Principal Vs Interest

Amortization Schedule Calculator

Understanding an amortization schedule can be very useful. A mortgage amortization schedule is broken down on a monthly basis to show you exactly what you’re paying the bank each month and how much you still owe. I could probably survey 100 people and 50 of them wouldn’t even know how much they owe on their mortgage. These people are going to be taken advantage of at some point in the mortgage process. With some basic knowledge on mortgage calculators and interest rates you can understand when someone might be trying to trick you.

Your mortgage is recalculated each month based on how much principal is paid down. Your mortgage payment will always stay the same, but the principal goes up and the interest will come down as time goes on. Example below:

Enter this information into a mortgage calculator;

Mortgage amount – $100,000.00

Fixed Interest Rate – 6.0%

Years – 30

Based on that information you will see that the monthly mortgage payment is $599.55 and over the course of 30 years you will have paid $115,838.19 JUST in interest! That’s more than the cost of the home itself! It’s only natural to try and reduce that number. First, we need to understand it by looking at the information from the mortgage calculator.

The graph below shows you the breakdown of each payment you make over the first year.

Monthly Payment – $599.55

Month Interest Payment Principal Payment Remaining Balance

$100,000.00
1 $500.00 $99.55 $99,900.45
2 $499.50 $100.05 $99,800.40
3 $499.00 $100.55 $99,699.85
4 $498.50 $101.05 $99,598.80
5 $497.99 $101.56 $99,497.24
6 $497.49 $102.06 $99,395.18
7 $496.98 $102.57 $99,292.61
8 $496.46 $103.09 $99,189.52
9 $495.95 $103.60 $99,085.92
10 $495.43 $104.12 $98,981.79
11 $494.91 $104.64 $98,877.15
12 $494.39 $105.16 $98,771.99

First of all, in the amortization schedule the “Interest payment” and “principal payment” columns will always equal your monthly payment amount of $599.55. Some of it will go toward the $100,000 that you owe, and the rest of it goes toward interest.

Notice that the amount you owe is lowered by the amount of principal you pay each month (100,000 – 99.55 = 99,900.45) If you pay an extra $200.00 toward principal then it would be 100,000 – 99.55 – 200.00 = 99,700.45.

The interest payment goes to the bank for loaning you that specific amount of money. The bank tells you the yearly interest rate (6%) for added confusion because it’s actually calculated monthly. Take your yearly interest rate and divide it by 12 (12 months). You can plug those numbers into a mortgage calculator or see the graph above. 6% / 12 months = 0.50% per month. So you owe 100,000 x .005 (.50%) = $500.00 in interest for the first month (See above graph). So the less money you owe the bank, the less interest you pay each month. That’s why paying principal down faster is better.

Like I said before, each month the mortgage payment is recalculated so the amount of principal you pay each month is up to you! No matter how you look at it, you owe the bank $100,000.00 and while you owe that money they want something in return (Interest). I believe banks are very fair with the interest rates they offer, whatever they might be. Otherwise you would have to save $100,000.00 to buy a home, rather than just the down payment, which means most people wouldn’t ever buy a home at all.

By: Chris G Bell

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Posted in Real Estate · August 21st, 2010 · Comments (0)

How to Effectively Utilize the Various Types of Home Mortgage Calculators

If you are familiar with the real estate market, then you are also familiar with a Home Mortgage Calculating Machine.

A mortgage calculating machine is not your ordinary machine. It has specific function intended to calculate home loans. It is an indispensable tool in the home mortgage industry. This allows you to calculate the interest rate of your home loan.

A mortgage rate calculator is an excellent device that can assist you with all the difficult calculations and it saves you from the entire nuisance. It is commonly used by home builders.

The various types of calculator include mortgage amortization calculating machine, it has basic functions of home mortgage calculator, only that an amortization schedule is being added.

If you want to pay less than what is required of you monthly, then you may have the interest only mortgage calculator. If you want to pay all your loans, then you may acquire a balloon payment home mortgage calculator.

For an adjustable rate, you may need an adjustable rate mortgage payment calculating machine. This is very user friendly and most people choose this type.

A complex advanced multiple mortgage calculator is common among financial institutions and banks.

There are varied options to choose from if you want to acquire a mortgage using mortgage calculating machine. Choose the one which is useful to you and that its function really suits your needs. Having this tool is a big help as you go along calculating your mortgage either annually or monthly. If you want to have fewer worries and be accurate about your loan, then you need either of these.

By: Elanora T. Kelly

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Posted in Real Estate · May 26th, 2010 · Comments (0)

Can I Get Approved For a Home Equity Loan?

Getting approved for a home equity loan is very similar to getting approved for a mortgage. You’ll have to go through the same process as you would with a mortgage loan and you’re offered the same types of interest rates. The problem with a home equity loan is that the banks always changed the way they lend the money out.

When real estate was booming it was easy to loan out money because the worth of the home was increased by 5% or 10% over the next year. So the bank would loan out more than people could afford because there was no downfall for the bank.

Let’s say you buy a home for $200,000 and your loan is for 100% of that so you owe the bank $200,000. Well if you stop paying your mortgage the bank will foreclose on your and sell the home to get their money back. So even if they sell it for $200,000 then they have to pay real estate fees of 5% which is $10,000. So the bank lost $10,000.

Now let’s assume you owe the bank $180,000 of the $200,000. Well 2 years ago the bank would loan you a 110% home equity loan which is an additional $40,000 on the $180,000. So now you have a $220,000 mortgage loan on a $200,000 home. The bank was gambling the fact that you’ll pay your mortgage on time for at least a year and they’ll get their money back. Well that’s when the market crashed and the $200,000 sunk to $160,000 and the loan is still for $220,000 so the banks took a huge hit!

So I recommend using a free mortgage calculator to figure out how much you can actually afford and go with that number as long as the bank approves you for it. As long as you keep making your monthly mortgage payment on time then the bank won’t have any reason to foreclose on your mortgage.

Now that the banks had that big issue and lost a lot of money they will only allow 80% home equity loans. That means if you have a $200,000 home you can get up to $160,000 worth. That means you have to owe less than $160,000 to the bank and then you can get up to the $160,000 for a loan. The reason is for the market going down so quickly the bank wants to save themselves if anything should happen.

Make sure to use an interest calculator before buying a home or getting a home equity loan. The interest rates make a big difference and you should stay on top of them to make sure you get the lowest monthly mortgage payment.

By: Chris G Bell

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Posted in Real Estate · March 2nd, 2010 · Comments (0)

How To Figure Out Mortgage Payments Without a Mortgage Calculator

In today’s world, taking out a mortgage is necessary for anyone who wants to invest in real estate or simply wants to put a roof over his head. Usually, to find out what a mortgage payment will be on a particular property, a potential buyer needs to contact a realtor or bank to get a quote.

By contacting either one, the buyer risks harassment from a realtor who won’t let go of a qualified buyer, or a lender who needs to lend mortgage money to stay in business. Any buyer in his right mind will only go to one of these salespeople when he is ready to go full speed ahead toward a closing.

So, what does a person who is in the early thinking stages of buying a home do? How do you know what the payment will be on a house a seller is asking $250,000 for when the bank is advertising 30-year mortgages at 7%?

By the end of this article you will be making such a calculation in your head. You will be sprouting out the answer to complicated home buying scenarios just as fast as you can find the terms on the mortgage and the price on the house.

$66.53 a Month

First, remember this: $10,000 borrowed for 30 years at 7% will require a monthly payment of $66.53. So, it stands to reason $100,000 for 30 years at 7% requires a monthly payment of $665.30. Also take note you could figure out on a piece of paper with a pencil, $50,000 for 30 years at 7% is $332.65.

Knowing these figures, you automatically know a $250,000 mortgage at 7% for 30 years will require a payment of $665.30 (for $100,000) and another $665.30 (for the next $100,000) and $332.65 (for $50,000). This means the payment will be $1,663.25, or really, really close. A mortgage calculator gives the answer as $1,663.26, but for a wild guess, I’ll take it.

A 6% or an 8% Mortgage

Of course, here you ask, “What if I find a mortgage with a lower interest rate?” Well in that case, remember this, $10,000 borrowed for 30 years at 6% costs the borrower $59.96 a month. This means a $1,000,000 mortgage for 30 years at 6% will be 100 times $59.96 or, a monthly payment of $5,996.00. Now, certainly that was easy. All we had to do was add 2 zeros!

Okay, what about if the interest rate is 8%? Here, a 30-year mortgage for $10,000 is $73.38 each month. So a $300,000 mortgage will come at a cost of 30 times that or, $2,201.40 a month.

How About a 7 1/4% Mortgage?

In reality, most times interest rates will not be exactly 6 or 7, or 8%. Even when this is the case, you still don’t need a mortgage calculator. If you read about a 30-year $260,000 mortgage at 7 1/4%, for instance, and you want to know what the monthly payment will be, here’s what you do. Are you ready? Guess!

That’s right! Just guess! You know 7% will cost you $66.53 per $10,000 a month and 8% will cost $73.38 per $10,000 a month. You also know 7 1/4 is somewhere on the lower side between 7 and 8 so take a guess how much 7 1/4% will cost per $10,000 a month. My guess would be maybe, $68.50?

I’ll go with that. So, since it is a $260,000 mortgage we’re trying to figure the payment for, we will multiply 26 (260,000 / 10,000) X $68.50. The answer is: $1,781.

When I run $260,000 at 7 1/4% for 30 years through a mortgage payment calculator the answer comes out $1,773.66. So, our answer wasn’t precisely right, but it was pretty close.

In a case like this, even if we came out with an answer that is $20-$30 off, who cares? Before the real mortgage payment is determined, the cost of a homeowner’s insurance policy and property taxes will have to be calculated anyway. So, the best anybody can do at this point is guess.

There you have it. Now, you’re a human calculator! As long as you’re only concerned with 30-year mortgages, and today’s going interest rates, which are 6% to 8%, you can figure out mortgage payments in your head, or maybe with just a little help from a pocket calculator. Congratulations!

By: Edward Lathrop

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Posted in Real Estate · November 9th, 2009 · Comments (0)

Amortization Schedule Calculators

The following are some of the best and most popular amortization schedule software applications, and websites that offer web-based amortization schedule tools on the Internet.

Bankrate.com (http://www.bankrate.com/brm/amortization-calculator.asp) has an amortization schedule calculator that calculates your monthly mortgage payment and shows you the impact of extra mortgage payments on your loan and creates an amortization table. You have to enter the mortgage amount, mortgage term, interest rate, mortgage start date and monthly payments in the input boxes before your amortization schedule can be generated.

Loanamortizer.com is a loan amortization and loan management software website. It offers a downloadable evaluation product called LoanAmortizer (http://www.loanamortizer.com/_en/download/). The application utilizes features such as drop-down menus to enter details such as amortization method, contract date and interest rate types to calculate amortization schedules.

Math.about.com has an Amortization calculator (http://math.about.com/library/blamort.htm) for computing your mortgage when you enter anticipated amount of house, amount of down payment, anticipated interest rate, anticipated length of loan, in years, and start date of loan – a very friendly interface which is quite easy to use.

Pine-grove.com has a calculator called “Flexible Amortization Schedule”. “Flexible” because any attribute can be adjusted according to one’s wish. For example, rates can be adjusted to create ARMs, change payment amounts or skip payments; and the amortization can be copied and printed. Evaluation copies of their Amortization Schedule products – AmortizeIT (http://www.pine-grove.com/downloads/amortizeit.htm) and SolveIT (http://www.pine-grove.com/downloads/solveit.htm) – can be downloaded for free.

HSH Associates (http://www.hsh.com/calc-amort.html), a consumer loan information website, features an amortization calculator to generate an amortization schedule (by month or by year) as well the monthly payment for a mortgage paid either monthly or bi-weekly. It is also capable of demonstrating the effects of prepaying your mortgage on an irregular or regular basis. There is also a JavaScript version available.

By: Richard Romando

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Posted in Real Estate · September 27th, 2009 · Comments (0)

Simple Interest Rate Amortization Schedules Explained

Amortization schedules are important simply because they show you how each mortgage payment breaks down into its two parts, principal and interest. With this knowledge, you can adjust your payments to include future principal payments which in turn will save you from paying their corresponding interest payments.

This means if a particular payment is split up in such a way that requires $200 in principal and $1000 in interest be paid, you can save the $1,000 by paying the $200 before this payment is due. In making these types of adjustments, you can save tens of thousands of dollars because you will economically be shortening the term of the mortgage.

Simple Interest Vs. Compounded Interest

I have been asked about simple interest amortization schedules. They’re really isn’t too much to explain. The opposite of simple interest is compounded interest. No compounding takes place in the paying of a mortgage. So, all amortization schedules are simple interest. Let’s prove this supposition.

On a $200,000 mortgage at six percent for two years, we can see when looking at this mortgage’s amortization table, the 25th payment has a principal due of $224.42. When we look at the 26th payment we can see that the interest due is $974.68. The total amount due on the mortgage before the 25th payment is paid is $194,936.47. To borrow this amount of money for one month would cost $974.68.

How do we know this? One way is to look at the amortization table and see what the interest is on the 25th payment. Another way to find out would be to calculate this longhand. Here’s how to do that:

$194,936.47 times 6% divided by 12 equals $974.68. Take note that six percent divided by 12 gives us the interest rate for one month. You can easily see there is no compounding taking place here. Here’s what would happen if compounding took place. The amount due monthly on the same mortgage is $1,199.10. If you were to pay this amount of money each month into a savings account whose interest compounded monthly, after 28 years your investment would be $1,046,459.33.

The significance of 28 years is that it is the amount of time from the end of the loan working backward until the 25th payment is due. At the time of this payment, as we previously discussed, the amount due on the mortgage is $194,936.47. So this proves amortization schedules are simple interest.

Interest Only Amortization

Sometimes people mistakenly use the term simple interest when they are referring to interest only. With an interest only loan, no amortization takes place. For instance, $200,000 borrowed at six percent on an interest only loan would require a payment of $1,000 each month. This $1,000 would pay nothing toward the principal, so the loan would not be amortizing. In other words, at the end of any time period from one month until infinity, the amount of principal owed would always be $200,000.

Variable Rate Mortgage Amortization

Another case in mistaken identity is referring to a simple interest amortization schedule when a person wants to refer to an amortization table for fixed interest rate mortgages opposed to a variable interest rate mortgage.

To make an amortization table for a variable interest rate mortgage, you would have to know exactly what the interest rate would be at each point throughout the term of the loan. This is impossible because variable interest rate mortgages are built on the premise the mortgage rate could go up or down. Therefore, there is no such thing as a variable rate amortization table.

So a simple interest rate amortization table is the only amortization schedule available and it is a very important piece of mathematical equations. Knowing how to use it can save you a lot of money on your mortgage. Here’s one way:

Look at the principle on the payment at the halfway point of the schedule. This would be payment number 181 on a thirty-year mortgage. Here, you would look at the principle part of the payment. If you took this amount of money and added it to each monthly payment, your mortgage would be paid in half the time.

By: Edward Lathrop

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Posted in Real Estate · June 14th, 2008 · Comments (0)

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