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How to Stop Spending Money on Rent and Own a Home Instead

The 10 Dumbest Mistakes Smart People Make When Buying or Selling a Home- and How to Avoid Them

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Mortgage Calculators
Welcome > Resources > Mortgage Calculators > Should You Rent or Buy? ...

The Best Mortgage Calculators On the Web! 

Please try our Java loan and mortgage calculators. They take a minute to load, but they are worth it! 

Each calculator has dynamic graphs and charts that change - right before your eyes - as you enter different information. Try each calculator with different interest rates, loan amounts, and payment schedules. 

The mortgage repayment schedule and other reports are fully customizable - just for your home, your interest rate, your loan amount, your taxes, and more. 

Would you like a print out, for your records and future reference? Each calculator includes a View Report button. Click it, hit print, and you have a report, customized just for you... 

Should You Rent or Buy?

Should you rent or should you buy your home? It takes more than looking at your mortgage payment to answer this question. This calculator helps you weed through the fees, taxes, and monthly payments to help you make a good financial decision. Click the "View Report" button for a detailed look at the results.

This Financial Calculator requires a Browser with Java Support


Definitions

Price of home
Purchase price of the home you wish to buy.

Cash on hand
Cash you have for the down payment and closing costs.

Interest rate
The current interest rate you can receive on your mortgage.

Term in years
The number of years over which you will repay this loan.

Property tax rate
Your property tax rate. 1% for a $100,000 home equals $1,000 per year in property taxes.

Home insurance rate
Your homeowner's insurance rate. 0.5% for a $100,000 home equals $500 per year for homeowner's insurance.

Loan origination rate
The percentage the lending institution charges for its origination fee. 1% for a $100,000 home equals $1,000.

Points paid
The total number of points paid to reduce the interest rate of your mortgage. Each point costs 1% of your mortgage balance.

Other closing costs
Estimate of all other closing costs for this loan. This should include filing fees, appraiser fees and any other miscellaneous fees paid.

Total closing costs
Total upfront costs to close your loan. This is the sum of the loan origination fee, amount paid for points and other closing costs.

Total for down payment
Total funds remaining for down payment.

Mortgage amount
Total amount of loan.

Investment return
The rate of return you could receive if you invested your closing costs and down payment instead of purchasing a home.

The actual rate of return is largely dependant on the type of investments you select. From January 1970 to December 2003, the average compounded rate of return for the S&P 500, including reinvestment of dividends, was approximately 11.7% per year. During this period, the highest 12-month return was 64%, and the lowest was -39%. Savings accounts at a bank pay as little as 1% or less. It is important to remember that future rates of return can't be predicted with certainty and that investments that pay higher rates of return are subject to higher risk and volatility. The actual rate of return on investments can vary widely over time, especially for long-term investments. This includes the potential loss of principal on your investment.

Monthly rent payment
Amount you currently pay for rent per month.

Income tax rate
Your current marginal income tax rate.

Expected inflation rate
Inflation rate used to adjust amounts subject to annual increases. These amounts include rent, insurance and tax payments.

Home appreciates at
Annual appreciation you expect in the home you are purchasing.

Future sales commission
The percent of your home's selling price you expect to pay to a broker or real estate agent when you sell your home.

House payment
Total of principal, interest, taxes and insurance (PITI) paid per month for your home. Insurance includes Principal Mortgage Insurance (PMI) and homeowner's insurance.

Principal payment
Total of principal paid per month on your mortgage.

Tax savings
The value of the tax deduction you receive on your mortgage's interest and home's property taxes. For example, if you have $900 in interest and $100 property taxes per month, the value of the tax deduction would be $280. (At a tax rate of 28%).

Net house payment
Your house payment minus the value of the tax deduction and principal payment.

Net home price
Net selling price of your home after subtracting any sales commissions.

Monthly PI
Monthly principal and interest payment.

Monthly PMI
Monthly cost of Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). For loans secured with less than 20% down, PMI is estimated at 0.5% of your loan balance each year.

The mortgage calculators are provided by KJE Computer Solutions, LLC and made available to NUMBER1EXPERT as self-help tools for your independent use and are not intended to provide investment advice. We can't guarantee their applicability or accuracy in regards to your individual circumstances. All examples are hypothetical and are for illustrative purposes. We encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding all personal finance issues.



School Reports in Vancouver, Camas and Battle Ground, Washington
"A model of how the Internet can facilitate the process of deciding where to send your children to school"
- America's Best School Profiles by
The Heritage Foundation

Washington Public, Private and Charter Schools: Compare them using these top-rated, comprehensive reports.
  Schools in Vancouver, Camas and Battle Ground 



Real Estate Tips
Pricing >Sellers Beware

Here is a scenario for sellers to avoid. You contact a real estate agent to list your home and the agent suggests that you might get more for your house than comparable homes on the market. The agent assures you that it only takes finding one person who is willing to pay your price!

Some agents approach a listing appointment as if they are bidding for your home. The unfortunate result is that you start out with an unrealistic opinion of your home's value. There is often a strong temptation to work with a person who says what you want to hear. An experienced, reputable real estate agent will back up their opinion of your home's value with hard data. The agent should give you information about the listing price of homes that are currently on the market, and recent selling prices of similar properties in your immediate area.

Even the most heroic marketing efforts won't work on a property that is obviously overpriced, (except in the most exaggerated of seller's markets.) Even if you find a buyer who is willing to pay more than your home is worth, the sale could fall apart when the appraisal comes in lower than the agreed-upon price. Listen to everything, but be careful!

See All Tips In The "Pricing" Category >
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Real Estate Trivia
Q 
How much does a celebrity's name boost the price of a property?

A 
Typically no more than 5 percent, but there are exceptions--the greater the fame, the higher the price!
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The  J Team, REALTOR®, real estate agents and broker for Vancouver, Camas and Battle Ground, Washington home listings, property and land for sale - NUMBER1EXPERT(tm)

The "J" Team
Keller Williams Realty

915 Broadway, Suite 100
Vancouver, WA. 98660
Phone: 360-816-9901
Fax: 360-906-0027
Email: JayHomes@gmail.com

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ABRREALTORMLSEqual Housing


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