Mortgages & home loans
Payments, amortization, affordability, refinancing and paying off early.
One amortization schedule sits behind all of these. What changes is the question asked of it — what the payment is, what it costs over the full term, what an extra hundred a month saves, or when refinancing pays for itself.
- 15 vs 30 year What the shorter term costs each month, and what it saves over the loan.
- Amortization schedule Where each payment goes, year by year, and how slowly the balance actually falls.
- Biweekly payments What paying half the mortgage every fortnight actually saves, and why.
- Closing costs What you actually need on the day, beyond the deposit.
- Extra payment What paying a bit more each month saves in interest, and how many years it cuts.
- Line of credit The interest-only payment, and what it becomes when the draw period ends.
- Home equity What share of the house is yours, and what a lender would advance against it.
- Affordability What a monthly payment you can manage translates into as a purchase price.
- Mortgage payment Monthly payment, total interest and what the first payment actually pays off.
- Discount points Whether buying down the rate pays back, and in what month.
- Mortgage insurance What mortgage insurance costs, and when you can get rid of it.
- Refinance break-even How long the lower payment takes to pay back what the refinance costs.