Five Ways To Benefit From Free Mortgage Loan Calculators

An astonishing 80% of home buyers now conduct at least part of their  research online. To help future home buyers, mortgage officers provide free mortgage loan calculators  online. All of these calculators share basic core financial functions with some of them providing advanced features. But they all can provide valuable insight as you navigate the home mortgage process. Let’s take a look at some of the different types of free mortgage loan calculators available online, and see how we can put them to best use.

 

 

Monthly Payments

All free mortgage loan calculators are able to calculate monthly mortgage payments. All you have to do is enter your total mortgage amount and the length of the mortgage, along with the interest rate and the starting date of the mortgage. The calculator will take this information and show you the amount of your monthly mortgage payments.

Some free mortgage loan calculators include an additional feature that will let you calculate the beneficial impact of making extra payments on your mortgage. By entering additional monthly or annual amounts, or adding a one-time payment, you can predict how much earlier your loan pay-off date could occur.

Amortization

Free mortgage loan calculators can also help you figure out your amortization schedule. Whether or not your amortization schedule is based on prepayments, free mortgage loan calculators will help you compute the amount of a monthly payment.

Free mortgage loan calculators determine this by basing their calculations on your data: the principal amount borrowed, loan term, and the annual interest rate. Once the free mortgage loan calculator computes your monthly payment based on this data, you can then create the amortization schedule report.

Bi-Weekly Mortgage

Free mortgage loan calculators can also help you with your bi-weekly mortgage calculations. Making bi-weekly mortgage payments is a relatively painless way to pay additional amounts on your mortgage, saving you interest and shortening the mortgage term. Several free mortgage loan calculators can calculate what your bi-weekly payments will be and show you the amount of interest you will save.

To calculate your bi-weekly payments, total interest, and average interest each bi-weekly period, you will need to input into the free mortgage loan calculator the principal loan balance, the annual interest rate and the amortization. This should be enough for the tool to compute your savings on interest and monthly payments.

Scenarios

Here’s where the free mortgage loan calculators start to get interesting. They help you answer the “what if” questions. You can compare different scenarios to see which course of action leads to the most desirable outcome. For example, you can figure out how the size of your down payment can affect your monthly mortgage payments.

Missing Variable

Free mortgage loan calculators can also help you determine missing variables of a loan. For instance, you can find out how much money you would have to earn in order to afford one.

If you have any questions about what the calculators are asking for or what the answers mean, contact a reputable mortgage loan officer who will be happy to take the time to review the numbers.

 

 

What’s the Truth About Homes Under Electrical Lines?

You’ve been looking at homes and found a nice one, but it’s right under some large electrical wires. Your real estate agent counsels against it saying that a house isn’t safe, or that it lowers the property value.

But is it true?

The answer is that it depends. Generally if there’s electrical towers near the house, it will impact the value and time to sell when you’re ready to sell it. However, it could be a good way for you to buy the house if it’s in a neighborhood you might not ordinarily be able to afford.

But is it dangerous?

The short answer is probably not. However you should consider putting in a contingency that it passes inspection from the local power company to ensure that it’s not leaking. Just know that there is no conclusive evidence to date that power line towers cause cancer. You can search the internet and find compelling proof both ways, but nothing has ever been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt.
However, you should also ask the current owner if they have any problems with television reception, or interference with computers, cell phones, landlines, etc.
And the bottom line is that you need to evaluate for yourself what you want to do. It’s similar to purchasing a house on the corner. Statistically, they have a higher crime rate, but that doesn’t mean you will have a problem with crime.

Resources

For more information, Realtor.org provided a page filled with resources to examine this issue.
One recent article was from Health Physics on Health Risks Associated with Living Near High-Voltage Power Lines.
So, if you’re getting a good deal because there’s a power line, then yes, the property value is lower than if there weren’t power lines. And when you go to sell, most of the people will walk away as soon as they see the power lines. But there will always be people who are looking to get a good house for less than market value.

Should You Borrow From Your Retirement to Pay Your Mortgage?

 

We’ve been seeing this question asked a lot lately. It’s a tough question to answer because everyone’s situation is different.
So today, we’ll look at the pros and cons and help you think about the important questions to make up your own mind if it’s the right thing for you.
Generally speaking, we’re not talking about savings. We’re talking about your 401k investments, IRA’s and other investments you may have specifically set aside for retirement.

Why You Should Borrow

Borrowing from your IRA’s is not like borrowing from your 401k. You have 60-days to pay back the IRA loan without penalty. You can borrow from your 401k for five-years without penalty as long as it’s all paid back before the five years have elapsed.
You can usually borrow up to half of your 401k balance up to a maximum of $50,000 at any age and for any reason.
If you’re young, you can withdraw money from an IRA for a first time home purchase subject to a lifetime limit of $10,000 as of June, 2013. Talk to a reputable tax adviser if this is something that you’re looking into.
Both of these will give you extra cash when you may need it most, like closing costs or getting a slightly higher down payment. The IRA would be interest free if you pay back without incurring penalties and 401k would charge the prime rate plus one or two percentage points that goes back into your account.
Borrowing from your 401k won’t count in your debt-to-income ratio when you apply for a mortgage, and it won’t get reported to the credit bureaus.

Why You Should NOT Borrow

If you borrow from your 401k and lose or leave your job, you have a 60-90 day window to pay back the loan or it will be considered a distribution subject to taxes plus 10% early withdrawal penalty if you’re under 55.
You can’t miss even one payment or else you will be considered in default and penalized.
You will get double-taxed when you repay the loan. This is because the loan repayments, including the interest, will be repaid with amounts that have already been taxed and will be taxed when withdrawn from the retirement account.
If you cash out other investments intended for retirement, you lose the benefit of holding onto it for long term, and may have to pay capital gains on your taxes.
Bottom line is talk to a tax professional to understand the impact to your taxes. Think about if the long term gain of the house will offset the lost opportunity by borrowing or cashing out your retirement investments. Will you have enough time to recover?
And finally, the bottom, bottom line is never borrow more than you can repay. Don’t borrow off of your 401k to buy a larger house and then not adjust your spending so you can’t repay the 401k every month. And remember that if you lose or change your job, you will be required to pay back the borrowed amount in full. Talk to a reputable mortgage loan officer to understand how much you can afford.

Ideas for Day Trips

 

Are you feeling some wanderlust? Have you been cooped up for too long and you want to go exploring? Maybe you got a great camera for Christmas and want to go test it out. Or maybe you bought a great pair of hiking boots that you want to break in before you go on a really big hike. Or maybe you just want to go kick up your heels and have some fun.
Whatever your reason, it’s time to look into a day trip.
Chances are, there are really fun things to do within a 25 mile radius of your home that you didn’t know about. Why? Because you live there and it would never occur to you to look for what a tourist wants.
So, let’s play tourist for a day and have some fun.

Road Trip Tips

First, if you have kids and you’ll be driving in the car, you’ll need to plan ahead.
Here are some tips to keep everyone happy and well-fed for traveling:

• Bring books and music that the whole family will enjoy, and don’t forget about classic games such as “I Spy” and “Go Fish.”
• When packing food for a day trip, keep it simple. Fill a cooler with a variety of sliced fruits and veggies stored in plastic baggies for hassle-free munching. Include drinkable yogurts, individually wrapped cheese slices and granola bars.
• If a long road trip is in store, plan for several stops throughout the day. Giving kids – and parents – time outside of the car will help everyone stay energized throughout the drive.

A Local Day Trip

Are you the mother of a teenage girl? No matter how close of a relationship you may have with your daughter, it may feel as if you are spending way too much time apart. Instead of traveling, make your day trip at an all day spa.
Look for a day spas  equipped to handle pairs or even groups (if you have more than one daughter).

Apps to Help You Find Fun

Let your smart phone do the heavy lifting to find events nearby. There are some apps that also tell you where to eat like a local.
This site has links for apps to help you find the best places for hikes and camping.

Think Like A Tourist

Finally, go to your local library and look for a guide like Fodor’s to see what they recommend doing in your area.
Don’t wait to go do the silly things that only the tourists do. Play tourist for a day and make some silly memories.