Getting a mortgage is one of the biggest financial decisions you can make. The Quicken mortgage calculator is a useful free tool to estimate your monthly payments, preview loan options, and determine affordability. Read on for a step-by-step guide to using Quicken’s mortgage calculator to gain key insights before talking to lenders
Why Use A Mortgage Calculator?
A mortgage calculator gives you an easy way to forecast potential monthly payments and see how different loan terms, interest rates, down payments, and home prices impact your budget. Key benefits include:
- Estimate payments on a potential new home
- Compare loan term scenarios (15-year, 20-year, 30-year)
- Calculate affordability based on income and expenses
- See how interest rates impact monthly costs
- Determine how much you can borrow
- Decide if buying is better than renting
- Identify an optimal down payment amount
Good calculators like Quicken let you adjust all key variables, This helps you make an informed decision on the best mortgage structure and home price range for your situation
Step-by-Step Guide To Using Quicken’s Calculator
Quicken’s user-friendly mortgage calculator takes just minutes to provide key stats to guide your home buying process Follow these steps
1. Input Home Price
The first key input is the estimated price of the home you want to buy. Adjust this based on the actual houses you’re considering. Start low for affordability.
2. Enter Down Payment
Next, input your estimated down payment amount based on your available savings. 20% down provides the best rates, but programs exist for as low as 3% down.
3. Select Loan Term
Choose your preferred loan term in years. Common options are 15, 20, and 30-year mortgages. Shorter terms have higher monthly payments but you pay less interest over time.
4. Input Estimated Interest Rate
Interest rates vary daily based on economic conditions. Enter an estimated rate to calculate payments. Get up-to-date average rates from Quicken’s website.
5. Add Property Tax and Insurance Estimates
Factor in estimated annual property taxes and homeowners insurance premiums. This gives a complete payment picture. If unsure, search for averages in your local area.
6. Include HOA Fees If Applicable
If buying in a condo or homeowners association, add in monthly HOA fees so your payment estimate is comprehensive. Leave this off for single family homes.
7. Review Monthly Payment Breakdown
With all inputs entered, Quicken provides a detailed monthly payment breakdown including principal, interest, taxes and insurance. Review to ensure fits your budget.
8. Adjust Inputs and Rerun As Needed
Tweak down payment amount, home price, loan term, and interest rate to compare scenarios. Rerun the calculator after each change to see the impact.
9. Use Insights To Guide Home Buying
With an accurate payment estimate in hand, you can shop for homes and loans that align with your budget and preferences. This information prepares you for discussions with real estate agents and lenders.
Other Quicken Mortgage Resources
The mortgage calculator is just one of many tools Quicken provides to support home buyers. Other helpful resources include:
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Affordability calculator – Estimate the maximum home price you can afford based on income, debts, and expenses.
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Refinance calculator – Determine potential new monthly payments and savings from refinancing.
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Rent vs. buy calculator – Compare costs of renting versus buying to decide which is better financially.
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Amortization calculator – See how mortgage payments apply to interest and principal over time.
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First-time homebuyer guide – Get tips and expert advice on buying your first home.
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Today’s mortgage rates – View current average mortgage interest rates updated daily.
Get Started With Confidence
Buying a home is a big step that requires careful planning and budgeting. Quicken’s free online mortgage calculator provides an easy way to forecast payments, preview loan options, and determine affordability before ever speaking with a lender. Use these insights to shop smart and determine the optimal financing terms and home price range for your situation.
With the right preparation, you can move forward in your home buying journey with greater clarity and confidence. Quicken is here to help get you started on the path to achieving your homeownership dreams!
Frequency of Entities:
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Understanding your home loan
If you want to understand your loan statement breakdown, here are some of the line items homeowners might run into.
Whether you have a fixed-rate mortgage or a variable-rate mortgage, the interest you pay is based on your mortgage interest rate. A fixed-rate mortgage is very straightforward — the interest rate doesn’t change throughout the loan term. With a variable-rate mortgage, the interest rate changes periodically in response to changes in the mortgage market.
Even if your total monthly payment never changes, the amount of interest that’s included in each payment probably will. You’ll pay more interest at the beginning of your loan term and less as you pay down the loan. That’s just how most mortgages are structured.
Mortgage interest may be tax deductible. You should receive a statement each year that shows the mortgage interest you paid during that 12-month period.
The principal is the loan amount borrowed on the mortgage. If the bank loaned you $400,000 to buy your house, for example, that amount is the principal. If you didn’t pay closing costs at the time of the closing, those costs are probably included in the loan principal too.
The principal balance is what you still have left to pay on your loan.
Items like interest, insurance, taxes, and fees may be included in your monthly payments, but those amounts don’t help you pay down your loan balance. On your mortgage statement, the part labeled “principal” in each payment is the amount that’s actually reducing your loan balance.
Amounts labeled “escrow” may be held in a special account used to pay other costs related to homeownership such as property taxes or homeowner’s insurance. Your lender collects money for these each month and then pays those bills for you as they come due. The amount of escrow may adjust yearly as taxes and insurance costs change.
This also might be labeled “suspense” because your lender holds these funds “in suspense” until it’s time to pay the bill for which the funds are intended. If you make a partial payment, that money might also be held in suspense until you pay the rest.
Why you should use a mortgage tracker
When it comes to tracking your payments, there are many ways to do that. Some people use a spreadsheet like Google Sheets or Excel. Others rely on their lender’s website to keep track of their balance, and they might add monthly reminders to their calendar to help them make their payments on time.
For Quicken users, the convenient choice is to use our built-in mortgage tracking features. On top of tracking your payments and principal balance, Quicken comes with special tools that let you:
- Track when your payments are due
- Budget your mortgage payments
- Calculate an earlier payoff date
- See how much interest you could save
For example, you can use Quicken’s built-in loan calculator to see how much time and interest you could save on your mortgage by adding an extra amount to your payment every month or by making an extra lump-sum payment to pay your balance down sooner.
Quicken offers several highly affordable plans to fit your needs. See which one is right for you.
Quicken Tutorial: Painless Mortgage Payments
Is it too late to refinance a Quicken loan?
Quicken Loans is a registered trademark of Rocket Mortgage, LLC, used under license by LMB OpCo, LLC from Rocket Mortgage. QuickenLoans.com, a LMB Mortgage Services, Inc. company NMLS #167283, www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org If you haven’t refinanced yet, it’s not too late! There has never been a better time to refinance.
What is a mortgage calculator?
Our mortgage calculator can help you estimate your monthly mortgage payment. Enter some basic information to get started. Like this estimate? Get your actual numbers by applying online with Rocket Mortgage ®. What’s the purpose of a mortgage calculator? Our mortgage calculator can help you estimate your monthly mortgage payment.
How do I get my mortgage numbers?
Get your actual numbers by applying online with Rocket Mortgage ®. What’s the purpose of a mortgage calculator? Our mortgage calculator can help you estimate your monthly mortgage payment. This calculator estimates how much you’ll pay for principal and interest. You can also opt to includes your taxes and insurance in this payment estimate.
How do Lenders calculate monthly mortgage payments?
Lenders use a figure called your debt-to-income ratio (DTI) to determine if you’re eligible to buy a house. Your DTI is calculated by dividing the sum of your monthly debts (such as car and credit card payments) by your monthly gross income. Most loans require that your DTI not exceed 45%. How do I calculate my monthly mortgage payment?