Mortgage calculator

[frugalone]

Can anyone recommend a good mortgage calculator site?

Or am I better off just Googling for the term? Are they that easy to find, in other words?

Thanks!

EDIT: I guess what I am really looking for, upon further thought, is something that will assist me in figuring out the answer to that old question, Rent or Buy?

Can it really be figured out by oneself, online? There seems to be so much to think about: PMI, tax rates, today's savings rates, etc. It's overwhelming.

[SteveinMN]

frugalone, mortgage calculators are easy to find on the Web. However, just typing mortgage calculator will result in a billion or so results. For your purpose, I would search for mortgage calculator rent buy and let those results sift to the top.

That said, I don't think the rent/buy decision can be encapsulated very well in a calculator. I can't envision too many properties which will allow you the option of renting them or buying them. And comparing other properties will be apples to pears. What are the housing/rental markets like in the area? What big things might happen to change that status? Do you know what kind of mortgage and rate for which you will qualify? If the rental offers utilities included, how would you estimate with accuracy for a home? How easy will it be to sell that property in case you need to move quickly?

But if it's easy to find the calculator you're looking for and you have some preliminary numbers to put in, you can at least get an idea of where you are financially. It's not like you'll be wasting tons of time in the process.

[Rosemary]

I just google for one when I need it (in my case now, usually for refinancing decisions, but in the past I've searched for the rent v buy as well). There are many.

[Spartana]

I guess what I am really looking for, upon further thought, is something that will assist me in figuring out the answer to that old question, Rent or Buy?

Can it really be figured out by oneself, online? There seems to be so much to think about: PMI, tax rates, today's savings rates, etc. It's overwhelming. Like Steve said, a calculator won't help in making a financial decsion whether to rent or buy since there are so many other factors (and expenses) involved than just monthly payment.

On the buy side you also need to add in down payments, fees to buy (which can be in the thousands), insurance and property taxes, costs for potential improvements and repairs (and your cost time-wise to do the repairs and maintenance), increased utilities, etc... and potential increases over the life of ownership of all those things. As well as the costs involved to sell if that's your plan for the future.

On the rent side you'll have to look at constant annual price increases over the life of the rental.

[try2bfrugal]

Here you go -

Buy or Rent Calculator

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/business/buy-rent-calculator.html?_r=0

[artist]

Can anyone recommend a good mortgage calculator site?

Or am I better off just Googling for the term? Are they that easy to find, in other words?

Thanks!

EDIT: I guess what I am really looking for, upon further thought, is something that will assist me in figuring out the answer to that old question, Rent or Buy?

Can it really be figured out by oneself, online? There seems to be so much to think about: PMI, tax rates, today's savings rates, etc. It's overwhelming.

I use Bankrate.com

[frugalone]

Thank you all very much!

It's a bit of a complicated situation. My sister has been renting a house for a long time. The rent has never been raised, and it's cheaper than any apartment or house she could get around here. However, now the landlord is saying he wants to sell the house. He offered it to her at a ridiculously low price. It's old and it needs work, which she can do (she's very handy). It's almost a no brainer, but I thought it would be good to take a look at a mortgage calculator anyway.

[Spartana]

Thank you all very much!

It's a bit of a complicated situation. My sister has been renting a house for a long time. The rent has never been raised, and it's cheaper than any apartment or house she could get around here. However, now the landlord is saying he wants to sell the house. He offered it to her at a ridiculously low price. It's old and it needs work, which she can do (she's very handy). It's almost a no brainer, but I thought it would be good to take a look at a mortgage calculator anyway.Sounds like a deal! But be wary of home improvement expenses as they can add a huge amount to your monthly expected costs. I bought a fixer with the idea that i would do most of the work myself. And while that has been the case that doesn't mean that it's cheap or that it is easy and fast. Things are constantly breaking or needing maintenance and my time and money to do them. Often times there are more problems hidden behind the "simple" fix you plan to do yourself and you end up having to do more work (which is your life energy going bye-bye unless it's something you really enjoy doing anyways - I don't) or you end up having to hire someone to fix it for you. So besides the stuff mentioned above like extra money to pay for utilities, insurance, property taxes, etc... that you must add to the monthly mortgage expense, DIY repairs and maintenance on a fixer home can end up costing alot more than you planned on, as well as be a lot more work then you planned on.