
AmStar
Mortgage Network proudly represents many of the top
lending institutions in the United States, making every
effort to bring you the lowest cost, lowest rate alternatives
available anywhere.
Our state-of-the-art service is the envy of
the industry. We are the first to offer 24/7 online "Loan Status" which
allows you to check the progress of your loan as often as you like, from
application to closing.
We were also the first in the industry to bring true mobility to the mortgage process with
the ability to take an application, pull a credit report, get Fannie Mae/Freddy
Mac
pre-approval, order the
title search, order the appraisal, and print and review all pertinent application
documents -- Good Faith Estimate, Truth-in-Lending, Equal Credit Opportunity
Act, and more -- at YOUR home!
Putting you first.
Keeping you first. |
How
To Use the Mortgage Calculator
Most features of the mortgage calculator are self explanatory.
Each box should have a number in it (including "0" if
appropriate) to ensure the results are accurate. If you
prefer, you can use the sliders to enter your information.
The "Annual
Table" and "Monthly Table" features
show you how your equity builds month by month or year
by year. The "Display Printable Report" feature
located beneath the calculator puts the information in
an easy to read printable format.
One of the features of this calculator is the ability to add information
in the "Prepayment Data" section. Even if you are already several
years into your mortgage, you can see the affects of adding principle at any
point in time. It also allows you to see the benefits of making a one-time lump
sum payment at any point in time during the loan.
If you need help with some of the features, a more detailed mortgage calculator
guide is located at the bottom of this page. If you would like to speak with
one of our Mortgage Specialists about various options, feel free to contact us
at 770-509-7827. Our expertise is free.
The
calculator is divided into three sections:
1. Sliders -
Move the sliders to set the values of your principal,
interest rate, loan length,
and
mortgage start date.
2.
Data display -
Use the buttons to choose how you want the output
to be displayed.
- Summary
- just shows a summary of the current values.
- Amortization
Graph - this shows how the total payment made each
year is broken down. Note how the curves show increased
principal and decreased interest being paid as time
goes by. Also note that extra payments "push" up
the principal curve, i.e. the annual principal amount
shown is increased by the value of the extra payment.
See also the Settings Menu option for this graph.
- Repayment
Chart - the percentage breakdown of the total payments
made over the entire mortgage (or indeed, the breakdown
of the average monthly payment).
- Balance
Graph - this shows the balance outstanding over
the term of the mortgage. It is useful when extra
payments are made to visually see how much sooner
the mortgage is paid off, and how quickly the balance
drops.
- Annual
Amortization Table - how much interest and principal
you pay each year.
- Monthly
Amortization Table - how much interest and principal
you pay each year, broken down month by month.
Settings:
Principal
Amount - one of the most frequently requested features
of the older versions of the calculator was the ability
to make the principal amount go higher. I've put a ceiling
of 500 million in the current version.
Static/Dynamic
- static means that the calculations are done only when
you're finished dragging a slider; this is the default.
If you have a particularly fast machine or web browser,
you can use dynamic mode, where calculations are done
as you move the slider. Be warned that on some browser/machine
combinations, this can be too much for the Java virtual
machine implementation, and can cause the browser to hang
or crash.
Interest
sliders - You can use either 1/8th increments or decimal
places.
Amortization
- The system used for calculating American monthly mortgage
payments is the same or very similar to many other countries
around the world. Canadian financial institutions use
a slightly different formula.
Dollars/Pounds/Euros/Rands
- This is purely cosmetic. It makes no difference to the
calculations. People in my part of the world just prefer
using the pound or euro sign!
Amortization
Graph - Normal mode works as described in the amortization
graph section above. Stacked mode shows principal, interest
and extra payments all stacked on top of each other. Unlike
normal mode, there is no overlap between data.
Monthly/Bi-weekly
payments - Limited support for bi-weekly mortgages
is present through this option. When Bi-weekly payments
are selected, an extra half-monthly payment is made every
six months. This equates to making 13 monthly payments
every 12 months - a close approximation of how a typical
bi-weekly mortgage will work out.
Language
- Again, this is purely cosmetic. The language used does
not affect the calculations.
3.
Input Box
Initial
Loan Data - if you don't like using the sliders, you
can enter data directly in this section. Values for the
Tax and Insurance fields are simply divided by 12 and
added to the monthly payment amount. The inflation figure
allows estimates in real terms (i.e. in "today's money")
to be calculated. The total interest paid over the entire
mortgage is shown on the right hand side along with the
total interest paid as a percentage of all payments made
(see the Repayment Chart for a graphical view). Finally,
the total interest paid in real terms is displayed - this
figure is an attempt at calculating how much the total
interest paid is worth in real terms.
Prepayment
Data - this section gives you the opportunity to estimate
how you can shorten the term of your mortgage by making
either a single one-off payment or continuous extra monthly
or annual payments. On the right-hand side, the Savings
field shows you how much money you will save, while the
Real Savings field once again uses the inflation rate
to give a rough estimate of what these savings are in
real terms given that the interest savings are spread
over a number of years. The dates shown reflect what happens
to the mortgage term when the extra payments have been
factored in.
Important:
When entering values into the "Input Box", make sure
to press "Return" after you enter the last value. Using
the TAB key will work on some browsers, and clicking
the mouse over the next box is fine too, just make sure
the last value you enter has been recognized by the calculator,
and is being taken into account when calculations are
made.
If you find that nothing happens when you enter data in
the prepayment fields, make sure that you are only entering
whole numbers i.e. for an extra payment of $100.00, enter
just 100 - no decimal points.
Please
call us at 770-509-7827 and a Mortgage
Specialist will
answer
any of your questions with no
obligation and no pressure.
Our expertise is free.
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