Mortgage Calculator - Mortgage payment calculator plus amortization.

Drop in mortgage refinancing could hurt housing recovery

The recent rise in mortgage rates could place a drag on the weak housing market, potentially driving home prices still lower and pushing more borrowers into foreclosure, said Janet L. Yellen, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, in a speech this week. Yellen said other signs of economic recovery point to [...]

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac expand mortgage refinancing eligibility

The Obama administration announced this week changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) to allow homeowners to refinance existing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans with loan-to-value (LTV) ratios up to 125 percent. The loans will be eligible for delivery on or after September 1, 2009. Michael J. Williams, president and CEO of Fannie [...]

Appraisers object to restrictions on fees

The Appraisal Institute and other organizations representing appraisers have objected to new restrictions on appraisal fees in a letter to Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan. In its letter, the Appraisal Institute asked HUD to rescind Mortgagee Letter 97-46 immediately and to correct a reporting discrepancy related to appraisal management company (AMC) [...]

Mortgage applications declined 19 percent last week

New mortgage applications and refinance applications declined last week, according to the latest survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), continuing a downward trend despite lower average rates. The MBA market composite index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 18.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier and fell 7.4 percent [...]

Homeowners under water twice as likely to default on mortgages

Homeowners who are under water on their mortgages - those with negative equity - are twice as likely to be delinquent on their mortgage payments or in default on their loans, according to an analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The report, released today, estimates the number of homeowners in negative equity [...]

Amortization Schedule
A table showing the mortgage payment broken down by interest and regular amortization payments loan balance tax insurance payments and what is in the escrow account
Annual Insurance
Insurance purchased by the borrower and required by the lender to protect the property against loss from fire and other hazards, same as home owners insurance
Annual Tax
Local tax assessed on property owned, such as real estate or automobiles. Usually federal income tax-deductible
Home Value
The amount of money your home may be worth if sold. The value is determined by many factors including the comparable values of other homes in the area, a formal property Getting an appraisal from a professional appraisal and getting a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) from a real estate agent
Loan Amount
The amount the borrower promises to repay and detailed in a written contract between the originating loan institution and the borrower
Loan Length Years
The amount of time the lender has given the borrower to pay the loan. The usually loan lengths are 15, 30 and 40 years. Many hybrid loans are also available.
Loan Rate
is the price a borrower pays for the use of money they do not own, also see interest Rate
Loan Start Date
The time in which the borrower begins ending funds to the lender
Private Mortgage Insurance	PMI
PMI is extra insurance that lenders require from most homebuyers who obtain loans that are more than 80 percent of their new home's value. In other words buyers with less than a 20 percent of the home's equity as a down payment are normally required to pay PMI.