Your Questions About Mortgage Rates Today

David asks…

Should I lock in to today’s mortgage rate or wait two days (which is when I’m meeting with my mortgage broker)

I am currently being offered 5.75 with 0 points/0 points origination fee. Should I lock in today (3/18/08) or wait until my scheduled meeting, which is in two days (3/20/08) because the rates will have gone lower by then? Any ideas? Sources would be great. Thanks!
Forgot to mention…This is regarding a 30-year fixed loan.

admin answers:

No one can answer your question because no one knows what will happen in the next 2 days.

Thomas asks…

Today the Fed cut the interest rate 3/4 of a point – how does this affect mortgage rates?

admin answers:

Not very much, if at all. From what I’ve seen, the prime lending rate has to be cut at least a full percentage point, for at least several months to see even a possible quarter point difference in most real estate mortgage markets.

That being said, there are too many variables from market to market (and even lending company to lending company!) to predict much of anything accurately.

Steven asks…

Did mortgage rates go up in California today ?

admin answers:

No. The interest rate has been holding steady.
If you need help with financing or buying / selling real estate, feel free to email me. I’m a Realtor in California.

Sharon asks…

What’s the best type of mortgage to get today in light of the rising interest rates?

admin answers:

I would go with a 15 or 30 year fixed for now. Even with the rise in short-term rates, the long-term mortgage rates have remained fairly low. ARMs on the other hand have climbed.

Chris asks…

do you think mortgage rates will climb again? should I lock in today?

They have been climbing the last week or son and dropped 1/8 today…what do you think

admin answers:

I dont believe the days of rates lower than 5% will ever be seen in our life time again. I think the Fed and the financial industry has learned a lesson that will not be easily fogotten. I dont see any benefit to waiting for a true bottom in the rates. The amount of flucuation is minimal and not worth trying to time it. I think you will do fine to lock in and look ahead.

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Your Questions About Mortgage Calc

Joseph asks…

Can someone please help me with my calc project? i need to do it using the maple program.?

a couple have just taken on a mortgage of $200,000. an annual interest rate of 7.5% compounded monthly is being offered for a 30-year loan (360 payments). Two different payment schemes are offered.
One consists of a series of ballooning house payments which will increase by exactly the same amount each month until the loan is paid off. the first month’s payment is only $1250, which is exactly the interest due during the first month. determine how much the house payment is to increase each month. list the sequence of payments. list the sequence of balances over the life of the loan.
the other payment scheme is a fixed payment each month over the life of the loan. determine how much that payment should be. list the sequence of balances over the life of the loan.
the Truth in Lending Law requires that you tell your client the true total cost of the loan for each payment schedule. determine these amounts for each of the two payment plans.

i will be indebted to anyone who can help.

admin answers:

Ballooning payments: No single answer. The larger the payment, the quicker the payoff. At increasing amounts of 100 per month, mortgage paid off at payment 60.

Fixed payment:

PV of annuity with n equal payments of P,
is PV = P*( 1 – v^n) / i , where v = 1 / (1 + i)

PV = 200000
n = 360
i = 0.00625
v = 0.99378882
P = PV * i / ( 1 – v^n) =
200,000 * 0.00625 / ( 1 – 0.99379 ^ 360)
=1398.43

Time __Total__Interest__Principal__New
Time__Payment__Payment__Payment__Principal

0__ __ __ _____ __________________200000.00
1__1398.43__1250.00__148.43__199851.57
2__1398.43__1249.07__149.36__199702.21
3__1398.43__1248.14__150.29__199551.92
4__1398.43__1247.20__151.23__199400.69
5__1398.43__1246.25__152.18__199248.51
6__1398.43__1245.30__153.13__199095.39
7__1398.43__1244.35__154.08__198941.30
8__1398.43__1243.38__155.05__198786.26
9__1398.43__1242.41__156.02__198630.24
10__1398.43__1241.44__156.99__198473.25
11__1398.43__1240.46__157.97__198315.28
12__1398.43__1239.47__158.96__198156.32
13__1398.43__1238.48__159.95__197996.37
14__1398.43__1237.48__160.95__197835.41
15__1398.43__1236.47__161.96__197673.45
16__1398.43__1235.46__162.97__197510.48
17__1398.43__1234.44__163.99__197346.49
18__1398.43__1233.42__165.01__197181.48
19__1398.43__1232.38__166.05__197015.43
20__1398.43__1231.35__167.08__196848.35
21__1398.43__1230.30__168.13__196680.22
22__1398.43__1229.25__169.18__196511.04
23__1398.43__1228.19__170.24__196340.81
24__1398.43__1227.13__171.30__196169.51
25__1398.43__1226.06__172.37__195997.14
26__1398.43__1224.98__173.45__195823.69
27__1398.43__1223.90__174.53__195649.16
28__1398.43__1222.81__175.62__195473.53
29__1398.43__1221.71__176.72__195296.81
30__1398.43__1220.61__177.82__195118.99
31__1398.43__1219.49__178.94__194940.05
32__1398.43__1218.38__180.05__194760.00
33__1398.43__1217.25__181.18__194578.82
34__1398.43__1216.12__182.31__194396.51
35__1398.43__1214.98__183.45__194213.05
36__1398.43__1213.83__184.60__194028.46
37__1398.43__1212.68__185.75__193842.70
38__1398.43__1211.52__186.91__193655.79
39__1398.43__1210.35__188.08__193467.71
40__1398.43__1209.17__189.26__193278.45
41__1398.43__1207.99__190.44__193088.01
42__1398.43__1206.80__191.63__192896.38
43__1398.43__1205.60__192.83__192703.56
44__1398.43__1204.40__194.03__192509.52
45__1398.43__1203.18__195.25__192314.28
46__1398.43__1201.96__196.47__192117.81
47__1398.43__1200.74__197.69__191920.12
48__1398.43__1199.50__198.93__191721.19
49__1398.43__1198.26__200.17__191521.02
50__1398.43__1197.01__201.42__191319.59
51__1398.43__1195.75__202.68__191116.91
52__1398.43__1194.48__203.95__190912.96
53__1398.43__1193.21__205.22__190707.74
54__1398.43__1191.92__206.51__190501.23
55__1398.43__1190.63__207.80__190293.43
56__1398.43__1189.33__209.10__190084.34
57__1398.43__1188.03__210.40__189873.93
58__1398.43__1186.71__211.72__189662.22
59__1398.43__1185.39__213.04__189449.17
60__1398.43__1184.06__214.37__189234.80
61__1398.43__1182.72__215.71__189019.09
62__1398.43__1181.37__217.06__188802.03
63__1398.43__1180.01__218.42__188583.61
64__1398.43__1178.65__219.78__188363.83
65__1398.43__1177.27__221.16__188142.67
66__1398.43__1175.89__222.54__187920.13
67__1398.43__1174.50__223.93__187696.21
68__1398.43__1173.10__225.33__187470.88
69__1398.43__1171.69__226.74__187244.14
70__1398.43__1170.28__228.15__187015.99
71__1398.43__1168.85__229.58__186786.41
72__1398.43__1167.42__231.01__186555.39
73__1398.43__1165.97__232.46__186322.93
74__1398.43__1164.52__233.91__186089.02
75__1398.43__1163.06__235.37__185853.65
76__1398.43__1161.59__236.84__185616.80
77__1398.43__1160.11__238.32__185378.48
78__1398.43__1158.62__239.81__185138.66
79__1398.43__1157.12__241.31__184897.35
80__1398.43__1155.61__242.82__184654.53
81__1398.43__1154.09__244.34__184410.19
82__1398.43__1152.56__245.87__184164.32
83__1398.43__1151.03__247.40__183916.92
84__1398.43__1149.48__248.95__183667.97
85__1398.43__1147.92__250.51__183417.46
86__1398.43__1146.36__252.07__183165.39
87__1398.43__1144.78__253.65__182911.75
88__1398.43__1143.20__255.23__182656.52
89__1398.43__1141.60__256.83__182399.69
90__1398.43__1140.00__258.43__182141.26
91__1398.43__1138.38__260.05__181881.21
92__1398.43__1136.76__261.67__181619.54
93__1398.43__1135.12__263.31__181356.23
94__1398.43__1133.48__264.95__181091.28
95__1398.43__1131.82__266.61__180824.67
96__1398.43__1130.15__268.28__180556.39
97__1398.43__1128.48__269.95__180286.44
98__1398.43__1126.79__271.64__180014.80
99__1398.43__1125.09__273.34__179741.46
100__1398.43__1123.38__275.05__179466.41
101__1398.43__1121.67__276.76__179189.65
102__1398.43__1119.94__278.49__178911.15
103__1398.43__1118.19__280.24__178630.92
104__1398.43__1116.44__281.99__178348.93
105__1398.43__1114.68__283.75__178065.18
106__1398.43__1112.91__285.52__177779.66
107__1398.43__1111.12__287.31__177492.35
108__1398.43__1109.33__289.10__177203.25
109__1398.43__1107.52__290.91__176912.34
110__1398.43__1105.70__292.73__176619.61
111__1398.43__1103.87__294.56__176325.06
112__1398.43__1102.03__296.40__176028.66
113__1398.43__1100.18__298.25__175730.41
114__1398.43__1098.32__300.11__175430.29
115__1398.43__1096.44__301.99__175128.30
116__1398.43__1094.55__303.88__174824.42
117__1398.43__1092.65__305.78__174518.65
118__1398.43__1090.74__307.69__174210.96
119__1398.43__1088.82__309.61__173901.35
120__1398.43__1086.88__311.55__173589.80
121__1398.43__1084.94__313.49__173276.31
122__1398.43__1082.98__315.45__172960.85
123__1398.43__1081.01__317.42__172643.43
124__1398.43__1079.02__319.41__172324.02
125__1398.43__1077.03__321.40__172002.61
126__1398.43__1075.02__323.41__171679.20
127__1398.43__1073.00__325.43__171353.77
128__1398.43__1070.96__327.47__171026.30
129__1398.43__1068.91__329.52__170696.78
130__1398.43__1066.85__331.58__170365.21
131__1398.43__1064.78__333.65__170031.56
132__1398.43__1062.70__335.73__169695.83
133__1398.43__1060.60__337.83__169357.99
134__1398.43__1058.49__339.94__169018.05
135__1398.43__1056.36__342.07__168675.98
136__1398.43__1054.22__344.21__168331.78
137__1398.43__1052.07__346.36__167985.42
138__1398.43__1049.91__348.52__167636.90
139__1398.43__1047.73__350.70__167286.20
140__1398.43__1045.54__352.89__166933.31
141__1398.43__1043.33__355.10__166578.22
142__1398.43__1041.11__357.32__166220.90
143__1398.43__1038.88__359.55__165861.35
144__1398.43__1036.63__361.80__165499.55
145__1398.43__1034.37__364.06__165135.50
146__1398.43__1032.10__366.33__164769.16
147__1398.43__1029.81__368.62__164400.54
148__1398.43__1027.50__370.93__164029.61
149__1398.43__1025.19__373.24__163656.37
150__1398.43__1022.85__375.58__163280.79
151__1398.43__1020.50__377.93__162902.86
152__1398.43__1018.14__380.29__162522.58
153__1398.43__1015.77__382.66__162139.91
154__1398.43__1013.37__385.06__161754.86
155__1398.43__1010.97__387.46__161367.40
156__1398.43__1008.55__389.88__160977.51
157__1398.43__1006.11__392.32__160585.19
158__1398.43__1003.66__394.77__160190.42
159__1398.43__1001.19__397.24__159793.18
160__1398.43__998.71__399.72__159393.46
161__1398.43__996.21__402.22__158991.24
162__1398.43__993.70__404.73__158586.50
163__1398.43__991.17__407.26__158179.24
164__1398.43__988.62__409.81__157769.43
165__1398.43__986.06__412.37__157357.06
166__1398.43__983.48__414.95__156942.11
167__1398.43__980.89__417.54__156524.57
168__1398.43__978.28__420.15__156104.41
169__1398.43__975.65__422.78__155681.64
170__1398.43__973.01__425.42__155256.22
171__1398.43__970.35__428.08__154828.14
172__1398.43__967.68__430.75__154397.38
173__1398.43__964.98__433.45__153963.94
174__1398.43__962.27__436.16__153527.78
175__1398.43__959.55__438.88__153088.90
176__1398.43__956.81__441.62__152647.28
177__1398.43__954.05__444.38__152202.89
178__1398.43__951.27__447.16__151755.73
179__1398.43__948.47__449.96__151305.77
180__1398.43__945.66__452.77__150853.00
181__1398.43__942.83__455.60__150397.41
182__1398.43__939.98__458.45__149938.96
183__1398.43__937.12__461.31__149477.65
184__1398.43__934.24__464.19__149013.45
185__1398.43__931.33__467.10__148546.36
186__1398.43__928.41__470.02__148076.34
187__1398.43__925.48__472.95__147603.39
188__1398.43__922.52__475.91__147127.48
189__1398.43__919.55__478.88__146648.60
190__1398.43__916.55__481.88__146166.72
191__1398.43__913.54__484.89__145681.83
192__1398.43__910.51__487.92__145193.91
193__1398.43__907.46__490.97__144702.95
194__1398.43__904.39__494.04__144208.9
195__1398.43__901.31__497.12__143711.79
196__1398.43__898.20__500.23__143211.55
197__1398.43__895.07__503.36__142708.20
198__1398.43__891.93__506.50__142201.69
199__1398.43__888.76__509.67__141692.02
200__1398.43__885.58__512.85__141179.17
201__1398.43__882.37__516.06__140663.11
202__1398.43__879.14__519.29__140143.82
203__1398.43__875.90__522.53__139621.29
204__1398.43__872.63__525.80__139095.49
205__1398.43__869.35__529.08__138566.41
206__1398.43__866.04__532.39__138034.02
207__1398.43__862.71__535.72__137498.30
208__1398.43__859.36__539.07__136959.24
209__1398.43__856.00__542.43__136416.80
210__1398.43__852.61__545.82__135870.98
211__1398.43__849.19__549.24__135321.74
212__1398.43__845.76__552.67__134769.07
213__1398.43__842.31__556.12__134212.95
214__1398.43__838.83__559.60__133653.35
215__1398.43__835.33__563.10__133090.25
216__1398.43__831.81__566.62__132523.64
217__1398.43__828.27__570.16__131953.48
218__1398.43__824.71__573.72__131379.76
219__1398.43__821.12__577.31__130802.45
220__1398.43__817.52__580.91__130221.54
221__1398.43__813.88__584.55__129636.99
222__1398.43__810.23__588.20__129048.80
223__1398.43__806.55__591.88__128456.92
224__1398.43__802.86

William asks…

Legal Q on home appraisal: can above-the-ground part of basement of split-entry house be included in GLA calc?

When I bought the house, init appraisal did not include it and it came back not worth asking price, the owner request another appraisal and this time it is included because it is said that half of the basement is above the ground so it should be include in GLA, which increased the house appraisal value and got the mortgage from bank.
Now I’m selling my house, the buyer/bank appraiser said the entire basement should not be included in GLA, even though half of it is above the ground, which makes the appraisal result again lower than my asking price and the buyer failed to get mortgage. Anybody know is that above the ground part should be included in GLA at all? If should not, do I have a case against the appraiser who did it when I bought the house?

admin answers:

Sorry but if any part of the basement is below grade then it does not count as GLA. GLA MUST be all above grade. You can not split the basement in 2 section. Yes you do have a case against the first appraiser who included the basement into the GLA. Thats Mtg fraud and once the docs and funds were transferred across state lines then it becomes wire fraud. Federal crime 30 years and a $1,000,000 fine.

Richard asks…

What is wrong with these pointers (C programming)?

include
#include
#define TAX_RATE 1.25
#define UTILITY_COST 300.0
#define INSURANCE_COST 550.0

void input(float*, float*, float*);
void calc(float, float, float, float, float, float, float, float);
float calcDplomo(float, float, float, float*, float*, float*, float*, float*);
void output(float, float, float, float, float, float, float, float);

int main(void)

{

float sellp;
float anir;
float loand;
float downp;
float amtl;
float mortg;
float propt;
float mtot;

input(&sellp, &anir, &loand);

calc(sellp, anir, loand, downp, amtl, mortg, propt, mtot);

output(sellp, anir, loand, downp, amtl, mortg, propt, mtot);

return 0;
}

void input(float* sellp, float* anir, float* loand)

{

printf(“ntt Brian’s Mortgage Calculation Programn”);

printf(“nEnter the property’s selling price: n”);
scanf(“%f”,sellp);

printf(“nEnter the annual rate of interest: n”);
scanf(“%f”,anir);

printf(“nEnter the duration (years) of the loan: n”);
scanf(“%f”,loand);

return;
}

void calc(float sellp, float anir, float loand, float downp, float amtl, float mortg, float propt, float mtot)
{

calcDplomo(sellp, anir, loand, &downp, &amtl, &mortg, &propt, &mtot);

return;
}

float calcDplomo(float sellp, float anir, float loand, float* downp, float* amtl, float* mortg, float* propt, float* mtot)
{
float cdown = .2;
float mins;
*propt = sellp * (TAX_RATE/100)/12;
mins = INSURANCE_COST/12;
*mtot = *mortg + UTILITY_COST + *propt + mins;
*downp = sellp * cdown;
*amtl = sellp – *downp;
*mortg = *amtl * anir/12*(1+anir/12) * loand *12/(1+anir/12) * loand *12-1;

return mins;
}

void output(float sellp, float anir, float loand, float downp, float amtl, float mortg, float propt, float mtot)

{
printf(“nMONTHLY COST OF HOUSEn”);

printf(“nSELLING PRICE $%9.2f”,sellp);
printf(“nDOWN PAYMENT %9.2f”,downp);
printf(“nAMOUNT OF LOAN %9.2f”,amtl);
printf(“nINTEREST RATE %9.1f%%”,anir);
printf(“nTAX RATE %9.1f%%”,TAX_RATE);
printf(“nDURATION OF LOAN (YEARS) %9.0fn”,loand);

printf(“nMONTHLY PAYMENTn”);

printf(“nMORTGAGE %9.2f”,mortg);
printf(“nUTILITIES %9.2f”,UTILITY_COST);
printf(“nPROPERTY TAXES %9.2f”,propt);
printf(“nUTILITIES %9.2fn”,INSURANCE_COST);

printf(” __________”);
printf(” $ %9.2fn”,mtot);

return;

}

Trial run:

Brian’s Mortgage Calculation Program

Enter the property’s selling price:
600000

Enter the annual rate of interest:
2.2

Enter the duration (years) of the loan:
30

MONTHLY COST OF HOUSE

SELLING PRICE $600000.00
DOWN PAYMENT -107374176.00
AMOUNT OF LOAN -107374176.00
INTEREST RATE 2.2%
TAX RATE 1.3%
DURATION OF LOAN (YEARS) 30

MONTHLY PAYMENT

MORTGAGE -107374176.00
UTILITIES 300.00
PROPERTY TAXES -107374176.00
UTILITIES 550.00
__________
$ -107374176.00
Press any key to continue

I know it has to do with the function call in void calc calcDplomo(sellp, anir, loand, &downp, &amtl, &mortg, &propt, &mtot); But how do I fix it?

admin answers:

At each calculation, add a printf() to display all of the variables that go into the calculation. That should help you find where your assumptions are wrong.

You asked this last week and got some good advice from another answerer…but didn’t seem to follow it. Your calc() function can’t possibly store any values because all of its arguments are values, not pointers. Every argument that a function needs to change has to be declared and handled as a pointer, not a float or double or int or other value.

I also notice that calcDplomo() uses *mortg before it has a value. That will cause problems after you fix everything else.

Suggestion. Use a prefix like p_mortg on argument names that are pointers, so you know when you are coding that they are pointers and need to be dereferenced to get a value. Example:
void calc(float sellp, float anir, float loand, float *p_downp, float *p_amtl, float *p_mortg, float *p_propt, float *p_mtot)
{
calcDplomo(sellp, anir, loand, p_downp, p_amtl, p_mortg, p_propt, p_mtot);
}

And call with:
calc(sellp, anir, loand, &downp, &amtl, &mortg, &propt, &mtot);

Also, consider making the prototype an exact copy of the function header, with argument names and all. When your programs get large enough to split into multiple files, you will find yourself using the prototype for reminding yourself what order to code the arguments. Having the argument names is a big help. Example:

void input(float* p_sellp, float* p_anir, float* p_loand); …. Instead of:
void input(float*, float*, float*);

Finally, why does calcDplomo return a value when nobody looks at it? Shouldn’t it be a void function?

Susan asks…

What is wrong with my pointers C programming?

include
#include
#define TAX_RATE 1.25
#define UTILITY_COST 300.0
#define INSURANCE_COST 550.0

void input(float*, float*, float*);
void calc(float, float, float, float, float, float, float*, float*);
void calcDplomo(float, float, float, float*, float*, float*);
void output(float, float, float, float, float, float, float, float);

int main(void)

{

float sellp;
float anir;
float loand;
float downp;
float amtl;
float mortg;
float propt;
float mtot;

input(&sellp, &anir, &loand);

calc(sellp, anir, loand, downp, amtl, mortg, &propt, &mtot);

output(sellp, anir, loand, downp, amtl, mortg, propt, mtot);

return 0;
}

void input(float* sellp, float* anir, float* loand)

{

printf(“ntt Brian’s Mortgage Calculation Programn”);

printf(“nEnter the property’s selling price: n”);
scanf(“%f”,sellp);

printf(“nEnter the annual rate of interest: n”);
scanf(“%f”,anir);

printf(“nEnter the duration (years) of the loan: n”);
scanf(“%f”,loand);

return 0;
}

void calc(float sellp, float anir, float loand, float downp, float amtl, float mortg, float* propt, float* mtot)
{
*propt = sellp * (TAX_RATE/100)/12;
*mtot = mortg + UTILITY_COST + *propt + INSURANCE_COST;
calcDplomo(sellp, anir, loand, &downp, &amtl, &mortg);

return 0;
}

void calcDplomo(float sellp, float anir, float loand, float* downp, float* amtl, float* mortg)
{
float cdown = .2;
*downp = sellp * cdown;
*amtl = sellp – *downp;
*mortg = *amtl * anir/12*(1+anir/12) * loand *12/(1+anir/12) * loand *12-1;

return mortg;
}

void output(float sellp, float anir, float loand, float downp, float amtl, float mortg, float propt, float mtot)

{
printf(“nMONTHLY COST OF HOUSEn”);

printf(“nSELLING PRICE $%9.2f”,sellp);
printf(“nDOWN PAYMENT %9.2f”,downp);
printf(“nAMOUNT OF LOAN %9.2f”,amtl);
printf(“nINTEREST RATE %9.1f%%”,anir);
printf(“nTAX RATE %9.1f%%”,TAX_RATE);
printf(“nDURATION OF LOAN (YEARS) %9.0fn”,loand);

printf(“nMONTHLY PAYMENTn”);

printf(“nMORTGAGE %9.2f”,mortg);
printf(“nUTILITIES %9.2f”,UTILITY_COST);
printf(“nPROPERTY TAXES %9.2f”,propt);
printf(“nUTILITIES %9.2fn”,INSURANCE_COST);

printf(” __________”);
printf(” $ %9.2fn”,mtot);

return 0;

}

The values that are returning the memory space name, instead of the proper value are downp, amtl, and mortg.

admin answers:

At least part of the problem lies in the definition of calc:

void calc(float sellp, float anir, float loand, float downp, float amtl, float mortg, float* propt, float* mtot)
{
*propt = sellp * (TAX_RATE/100)/12;
*mtot = mortg + UTILITY_COST + *propt + INSURANCE_COST;
calcDplomo(sellp, anir, loand, &downp, &amtl, &mortg);

return 0;
}

calc() takes the three parameters in question as calls-by-value (not pointers), but hands them off to calcDplomo() as pointers. Pointers to what? Not the actual locations in the caller to calc(), but to the locations on the stack they occupy while in calc(). In other words, main() never receives the new values.

Make those three parameters pointers in the calc() calling sequence rather than calls-by-value and I think this problem will go away.

Hope that helps.

Nancy asks…

What is wrong with this program C programming?

include
#include
#define TAX_RATE 1.25
#define UTILITY_COST 300.0
#define INSURANCE_COST 550.0

void input(float*, float*, float*);
void calc(float, float, float, float*, float*, float, float*, float);
float calcDplomo(float, float, float, float, float, float);
void output(float, float, float, float, float, float, float, float);

int main(void)

{

float sellp;
float anir;
float loand;
float downp;
float amtl;
float mortg;
float propt;
float mtot;

input(&sellp, &anir, &loand);

calc(sellp, anir, loand, &downp, &amtl, mortg, &propt, mtot);

output(sellp, anir, loand, downp, amtl, mortg, propt, mtot);

system(“pause”);

return 0;
}

void input(float* sellp, float* anir, float* loand)

{

printf(“ntt Brian’s Mortgage Calculation Programn”);

printf(“nEnter the property’s selling price: n”);
scanf(“%f”,sellp);

printf(“nEnter the annual rate of interest: n”);
scanf(“%f”,anir);

printf(“nEnter the duration (years) of the loan: n”);
scanf(“%f”,loand);

return;
}

void calc(float sellp, float anir, float loand, float* downp, float* amtl, float mortg, float* propt, float mtot)
{

*propt = sellp * (TAX_RATE/100)/12;
mtot = mortg + UTILITY_COST + *propt + INSURANCE_COST;
calcDplomo(sellp, anir, loand, downp, amtl, mortg);

return;
}

float calcDplomo(float sellp, float anir, float loand, float downp, float amtl, float mortg)
{
float cdown = .2;
downp = sellp * cdown;
amtl = sellp – downp;
mortg = amtl * anir/12*(1+anir/12) * loand *12/(1+anir/12) * loand *12-1;

return mortg;
}

void output(float sellp, float anir, float loand, float downp, float amtl, float mortg, float propt, float mtot)

{
printf(“nMONTHLY COST OF HOUSEn”);

printf(“nSELLING PRICE $%9.2f”,sellp);
printf(“nDOWN PAYMENT %9.2f”,downp);
printf(“nAMOUNT OF LOAN %9.2f”,amtl);
printf(“nINTEREST RATE %9.1f%%”,anir);
printf(“nTAX RATE %9.1f%%”,TAX_RATE);
printf(“nDURATION OF LOAN (YEARS) %9.0fn”,loand);

printf(“nMONTHLY PAYMENTn”);

printf(“nMORTGAGE %9.2f”,mortg);
printf(“nUTILITIES %9.2f”,UTILITY_COST);
printf(“nPROPERTY TAXES %9.2f”,propt);
printf(“nUTILITIES %9.2fn”,INSURANCE_COST);

printf(” __________”);
printf(” $ %9.2fn”,mtot);

return;

}

admin answers:

Void calc(float sellp, float anir, float loand, float* downp, float* amtl, float mortg, float* propt, float mtot)
{
*propt = sellp * (TAX_RATE/100)/12;
mtot = mortg + UTILITY_COST + *propt + INSURANCE_COST;
// downp and amtl were passed as pointers. CalcDplomo expects float values
// that is the reason why your program did not compile.
CalcDplomo(sellp, anir, loand, *downp, *amtl, mortg);

return;
}

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Your Questions About Mortgage Rates

George asks…

Why are fixed mortgage rates and adjustable rates different?

I just saw that a 30 year fixed mortgage is 6.07% and a 5/1 ARM is 5.91%. What are the reasons why these rates differ by nearly .2%?

admin answers:

The 30 year fixed will have the same interest rate (6.07%) for all thirty years of the mortgage. The 5/1 ARM will only have a fixed rate 5 years, and then will change (can go up) in the sixth year and every year after until thirty years. The first mortgage is riskier for the bank because they are guaranteeing the rate for all thirty years, so they charge you a higher rate of interest.

Nancy asks…

How long til it is revealed in mortgage rates?

If the fed lowers interest rate 1/4 percent or possibly 1/2 percent this week as expected, how long til it is realized in mortgage rates?
Thanks! I’m a little confused, but thanks for the answers! I did go to bankrate.com and their experts predict rates to fall further due to either the fed or lackluster employment numbers. Apparently, predicting mortgage rates is harder than ever.
Cheers!

admin answers:

The discount rates have nothing to do with the mortgage rates.

If the FED lowers the discount rate….it will stimulate the market to go up. When the market goes up….the bonds go down in Yield Spread. More investors buying stocks/mutual funds….leads to more consumer spending.

To make a long story short…if the FED lowers the rate…the mortgages WILL go up.

Laura asks…

How will tomorrow’s suspected rate cut affect mortgage rates?

I’m on the verge of getting a mortgage and was curious how the rate cut would affect mortgage rates. Is it a direct relationship, like if my rate is 6% today and tomorrow they cut a half point, will tomorrow mortgage rate be 5.5%?

I’m looking to do a 30 year fixed with about 50% down and excellent credit, any idea what kind of rate I should be looking to get?

Any insight you can offer beofre I take the plunge would be great. Thanks.

admin answers:

The Fed rate is a short term bank loan rate. This does not directly affect Mortgage rates, but inflation does affect mortgage rates.

Linda asks…

When the Fed cuts interest rates, how long does it take to reflect in mortgage offers?

I’m looking for mortgage rates online and want to build modular next year, now just looking for the best deal and wondering when today’s Fed actions will be reflected in the offers I find.

admin answers:

Cuts in daily interest rates from the central bank to the commercial banks do not directly translate to mortgage rates if we are thinking of fixed rate long term mortgages.
What drives mortgage rates is the long term rates for bonds and GICs. As banks have to pay less for funds from those sources they can cut long term mortgage rates.

We can find examples of long term rates moving in exactly opposite directions compared to daily interest rates.

Sandra asks…

What caused the spike in mortgage interest rates starting May 29th of this year resulting in a 6 month high?

Look at any trend chart, and you’ll see a definate spike resulting in a nearly 3/4% increase in a week! Any idea what caused this? According to the morning news, yesterday’s meeting by the fed decided to leave rates at an all time low. So… if the fed’s rates are at an all time low, why are mortgage rates up? For that matter, what causes them to change?

admin answers:

Mortgage interest rates are attributed to the change in prices of mortgage backed securities (MBS). There are many factors that determine if prices fall or rise for MBS. If MBS rise, then mortgage interest rates go down and vice versa. What has happened since May 29th is an influx in US treasury bonds. Due to the high spending of the Obama administration, the government must be able to raise money by issuing debt. Around May 29th, traders began to price in the upcoming treasury auction, which was very large. Traders realize that demand for MBS would decrease as there will be a huge supply of treasury bonds. Because of high treasury bond supply, their yields (the return on the bond) goes up. Treasury bonds become more attractive than MBS so the price of MBS goes down making mortgage interest rates go up.

To sum it all up, large supply of treasury bonds into the market makes, makes treasury bonds cheaper and thus more attractive than MBS so MBS prices go down. It’s simple supply and demand mechanics.

Hope that helps. Check out the source for more information on mortgage news and tips.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Your Questions About Mortgage Loan Payment Calculator

Mandy asks…

The previous answer fixed the 4 errors now it is not giving me the information, what is the problem?

The answer before fixed the errors, now this is what it gives me, not all of the information is there, what did I do wrong?

/*
* Week 5 Assignment
* Write the program in Java (without graphical user interface) and have it calculate
* the payment amount with 3 mortgage loans: 7 year at 5.35%, 15 year at 5.5%, 30 year at 5.75%.
* Use an array for the different loans. Display the mortgage payment amount for each loan and
* then list the loan balance and interest paid for each payment over the term of the loan.
* Use loops to prevent lis from scrolling off the screen.
*
*
*/

package mcbridemortgagecalculator2;

/**
*
*
*/
import java.lang.Math;
import java.text.DecimalFormat;

class McBridemortgagecalculator2
{

public static void main(String[]args){
//Declare variables
int loanAmt = 200000;//Principal loan amount
int [] loanTerm = {84, 180, 360};//Loan term for 7 years, 15 years, and 30 years
double[] intRate = {5.35, 5.50, 5.75};//Interest rares for 7 years, 15 years, and 30 years
int monthNum = 85;
int montNum2 = 181;
int monthNum3 = 361;
int loanNum = 0;
int line = 0;
double monthlyPay = 0;//Display monthly payment calculation
double newLoanBal = 200000;//Loan balance
double monIntPaid = 0;//Interest paid
double newIntRate = 0;//Monthly interest rate
double monPrinPay;//Monthly principal payment
DecimalFormat money = new DecimalFormat(“$0.00″);//Display mortgage amount in decimal
DecimalFormat interest = new DecimalFormat(“0.00%”);//Display inteest rate amount in decimal

//Display message in the console window
System.out.println();
System.out.println(“McBride Mortgage Calculator 2″);
System.out.println();
System.out.println(“This program will calculate three separare mortgage payments for a $”);
System.out.println(“with the following loan terms and interest rates”);
System.out.println(“7 years @5.35%”);
System.out.println(“15 years @5.50%”);
System.out.println(“30 years @5.75%”);
System.out.println();
System.out.println(“Following the math calculation of the payments, the program display the”);
System.out.println(“mortgage payments, interest paid, and loan balance for the terms of the”);
System.out.println(“three different loans”);
System.out.println();
System.out.println(“The loan results are as follows”);

int i;

for (i = 0; i<= 2; i++)
{
int j;

for (j = 0; j<=2; j++)
{

//Performs calculation for loan term, interest rate, and monthly payment
loanTerm[i]= loanTerm[i];
intRate[i] = (intRate[i] * .01)/12;
monthlyPay = loanAmt*intRate[i]/(1- Math.pow(1+ intRate[i],-loanTerm[i]));
//////////////pow(double,double)////////////

if (loanNum <= 2)
{
loanNum++;

//Display results for each loan in the console window
System.out.println();
System.out.println(“Loan” + loanNum);
System.out.println(“********************”);
System.out.println();
System.out.println(“The monthly mortgage payment for a $” + loanAmt + “over a” + loanTerm);
System.out.println(“interest rate =” + (money.format(monthlyPay)));
System.out.println();

System.out.println(“The mortgage payment, interest paid, and loan balance for the loan is as”);
System.out.println(“follows”);
System.out.println();

}

//Begins loop
while (newLoanBal >0);
{
newLoanBal = 200000;

if (i >= 0)

monIntPaid = intRate[i] * newLoanBal;
monPrinPay = monthlyPay – monIntPaid;
newLoanBal = newLoanBal – monthlyPay + monIntPaid;

//Display result of calculations for monthly principal paid, and new loan balance
System.out.println((money.format(monthlyPay)) + “t” +(money.format(monIntPaid)));

//Decrements monthly count one month at a time until count reaches zero
monthNum–;

//Pause console window, then continue calculations
if (line == 20)
{
line = 0;
try
{
Thread.sleep (2000);
}

catch (InterruptedException e){}
{
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
public class Main {

/**
* @param args the command line arguments
*/

// TODO code application logic here
}

run:

McBride Mortgage Calculator 2

This program will calc
run:

McBride Mortgage Calculator 2

This program will calculate three separare mortgage payments for a $200000
with the following loan terms and interest rates
7 years @5.35%
15 years @5.50%
30 years @5.75%

Following the math calculation of the payments, the program display the
mortgage payments, interest paid, and loan balance for the terms of the
three different loans

The loan results are as follows

Loan1
********************

The monthly mortgage payment for a $200000over a7-yearperiod at a 5.35%
interest rate =$2859.79

The mortgage payment, interest paid, and loan balance for the loan is as
follows

Loan2
********************

The monthly mortgage payment for a $200000over a15-yearperiod at a 5.50%
interest rate =$1634.17

The mortgage payment, interest paid, and loan balance for the loan is as
follows

Loan3
********************

The monthly mortgage payment for a $200000over a30-yearperiod at a 5.75%
interest rate =$1167.15

The
This is with semicolon
The loan results are as follows

Loan1
********************

The monthly mortgage payment for a $200000over a7-yearperiod at a 5.35%
interest rate =$2859.79

The mortgage payment, interest paid, and loan balance for the loan is as
follows

$2859.79 $891.67 $198031.88 Payment(s) complete

Loan2
********************

The monthly mortgage payment for a $200000over a15-yearperiod at a 5.50%
interest rate =$1634.17

The mortgage payment, interest paid, and loan balance for the loan is as
follows

$1634.17 $916.67 $199282.50 Payment(s) complete

Loan3
********************

The monthly mortgage payment for a $200000over a30-yearperiod at a 5.75%
interest rate =$1167.15

The mortgage payment, interest paid, and loan balance for the loan is as
follows

$1167.15 $958.33 $199791.19 Payment(s) complete
BUILD SUCCESSFUL (total time: 0 seconds)
The first is without semicolons, it should show for all 3, loan bal, int paid, mortg pay of the term of loan.
I hope this help. I have added and taken away

admin answers:

Do you know how to use the debugger? This would be a really really good time to start learning if not.

But for starters, this line is probably doing the most damage:
while (newLoanBal >0);

That semico at the end of the line is deadly: It’s an infinite loop. The while loop ends at that semico, so newLoanBal is always > 0.

I believe you are off by 1 here:
for (i = 0; i<= 2; i++)
That loop will execute the body 3 times. I=0 <=2, i=1 <=2 i=2 <= 2.
You only want it to execute 2 times, right?

What is the j loop for?

David asks…

Need a Mortgage pre-payment and bi-weekly payment function!?

I just bought my first home and I want to pay it off by the time I turn 30 years old. I’m 20 and I make 30K a year. My husband does as well. I want to pay an extra $50 monthly and $5500 yearly towards the mortgage. And I want to do this while making bi-weekly payments for principal/interest/prepayment total. The calculators I have used so far only do 2 out of 3 of the functions I want. And I cut the loan down to about 13 years that way. I know that a calculator doing all three will really knock that time down. I want a calculator that will do all three because I’m ready to pay this off and start on my next property. Can I do this myself? Please help!
So anyone who answers knows…I closed on my mortgage with 6.625% for 30 years fixed. I don’t need a reccomendation… I would like a solution to my problem. Thanks!

admin answers:

I’d like to commend you for taking control of your finances at such a young age. You’ll definitely succeed if you keep it up.

Regarding bi-weekly payments – I wouldn’t come to any conclusions yet – check first with your lender. Just because you send a payment in every two weeks doesn’t necessarily mean the lender will credit your principal every two weeks. They aren’t required to – many will simply apply all money received for the month once that month.

Also, keep in mind that you don’t have to pay off your mortgage before you invest in your next property. I borrowed on a home equity line against my primary residence to help buy a couple more properties. When the other properties went up in value and I could get a second on one of the investment properties, I used that to pay down my home equity line. Using leverage can help you tremendously, but you have to be careful – I’d never borrow so much that it would create a negative cash flow on the rental properties.

Anyway, even without a bi-weekly payment scenario, as you’ve discovered you can still pay down the loan pretty quickly with extra monthly principal payments. So proceed cautiously, and good luck.

Mary asks…

Need Help with Java: Returning multiple results?

Please, Serious Answers Only.

Purpose of the assignment: Create a mortgage calculator and have it display the mortgage payment amount based on the user’s input of the loan principal in addition to a combo box. The results need to display the mortgage payment amount, loan balance (after each payment), and interest paid for EVERY payment over the entire loan period (i.e if the loan is 7 years there would be 84 payments).

Problem, I can’t seem to figure out how to tell the program to display Each Payment, the Interest Paid information, or the new loan balance information. I thought I could do it with return values but I am getting errors. Below is a portion of my code:
——–
// Declaration of variables
private double payment;
private double interestPaid;
private double balance;
private double principalAmount;
private JLabel principalLabel = new JLabel(“Principal Amount”);
private NumberFormat principalFormat;
private JTextField enterPrincipal = new JTextField(10);

private double finalPayment;
private JLabel finalPaymentLabel = new JLabel(“Payment Number /t Monthly Payment /t Interest Paid /t Loan Balance”);
private NumberFormat finalPaymentFormat;
private JTextField displayFinalPayment = new JTextField(10);
private JTextField displayInterestPaid = new JTextField(10);
private JTextField displayBalance = new JTextField(10);

// Creation of the String of arrays for the ComboBox
String [] list = {“7 Years @ 5.35%”, “15 Years @ 5.50%”, “30 Years @ 5.75%”};
JComboBox selections = new JComboBox(list);
———————————-
// PORTION FROM THE INIT() METHOD

calculate.addActionListener(this);
exitButton.addActionListener(this);
clearButton.addActionListener(this);
enterPrincipal.requestFocus();
selections.addActionListener(this);
———————————-
//THIS IS A PORTION OF MY ACTIONPERFORMED METHOD
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
Object source = e.getSource();

// Outcome of pressing the calculate button
if (source == calculate)
{
// Used to call upon the user chosen selection
int selection = selections.getSelectedIndex();

if (selection == 0)
{

Double data = (Double)calculateLoanOne();
String sourceInput = data.toString();
displayFinalPayment.setText(sourceInput);
displayInterestPaid.setText(sourceInput);
displayBalance.setText(sourceInput);
}
————————
//THIS IS 1 OF THREE CALCLOAN METHODS
public double calculateLoanOne()
{
// Declaration of variables
int i = 0;
int l = 0;
double newBalance;
int term;

double periodInterest;
int totalPayments;
double loanInterest;
double paymentNumber;

term = 7;
paymentNumber = term * 12;

// Calling user input needed for the formula to calculate the payments
String sourceInput1 = enterPrincipal.getText();

// Parsing the input
principalAmount = Double.parseDouble(sourceInput1);
for (i = 0; i <= 2; i++)
{
totalPayments = 84;
loanInterest = 0.0535;
periodInterest = loanInterest / 12;

// Formula for calculating the monthly payment
finalPayment = principalAmount * (periodInterest * Math.pow((1 + periodInterest), totalPayments)) / ((Math.pow((1 + periodInterest), totalPayments) – 1));

interestPaid = principalAmount * periodInterest;
payment = finalPayment – interestPaid;
balance = principalAmount – payment;

while (balance > 0)
{
if (i >= 0)

paymentNumber = paymentNumber – 1;
interestPaid = balance * periodInterest;
payment = finalPayment – interestPaid;
balance = balance – payment;
}
}
// Formatting the monthly payment to round off two decimal places
DecimalFormat twoDForm = new DecimalFormat(“#.##”);
return Double.valueOf(twoDForm.format(finalPayment));
return interestPaid;
return balance;

}
If anyone is willing to seriously help, I can email my entire code. I just couldn’t fit all of it here.
Thanks Peter K. But how can I tell my program that I need to view every payment along with the interest paid and remaining balance?
Thanks, I guess I will try an figure out how to do it that way. All this is still fairly new to me but I appreciate your advice and will look into that :)
Blackcompe….you’re my hero =D I swear, I will always rate you with Best Answer. I can’t thank you enough =)

admin answers:

/*
* @author: Ryan Beckett
* @version: jdk 1.6
* test4.java
* This applet is a user driven interest calculator.
*/
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Font;
import java.awt.TextArea;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.text.DecimalFormat;

import javax.swing.JApplet;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JComboBox;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JTextField;

public class test4 extends JApplet implements ActionListener
{

JLabel heading1 = new JLabel(“Java Financial Services”);
JLabel heading2 = new JLabel(“Interest Calculator”);
Font newFontOne = new Font(“TimesRoman”, Font.BOLD, 20);
Font newFontTwo = new Font(“TimesRoman”, Font.ITALIC, 16);
JButton calculate = new JButton(“Calculate”);
JButton reset = new JButton(“Reset”);
JButton exit = new JButton(“Exit”);
JLabel instructions = new JLabel(“Please fill in all areas below”);

private double principalAmount;
private JLabel principalLabel = new JLabel(“Principal Amount ($)”);
private JTextField enterPrincipal = new JTextField(10);

private double finalPayment;
private JLabel finalPaymentLabel = new JLabel(“Monthly Payment is: $ “);
private JTextField displayFinalPayment = new JTextField(10);

String [] list = {“7 Years @ 5.35%”, “15 Years @ 5.50%”, “30 Years @ 5.75%”};
JComboBox selections = new JComboBox(list);

private TextArea textArea = new TextArea(5, 10);
StringBuffer buff = null;

public void init()
{
//////////////
JPanel instructionPane = new JPanel();
instructionPane.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
JPanel inputPane = new JPanel();
inputPane.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
JPanel outputPane = new JPanel();
outputPane.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
//////////////

//////////////
getContentPane().add(instructionPane, BorderLayout.NORTH);
getContentPane().add(inputPane, BorderLayout.CENTER);
getContentPane().add(outputPane, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
//////////////

//////////////
instructionPane.add(heading1, BorderLayout.NORTH);
instructionPane.add(heading2, BorderLayout.CENTER);
instructionPane.add(instructions, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
//////////////

//////////////
JPanel pane1 = new JPanel();
pane1.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
pane1.add(principalLabel, BorderLayout.NORTH);
pane1.add(enterPrincipal, BorderLayout.CENTER);

JPanel pane2 = new JPanel();
pane2.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
pane2.add(selections, BorderLayout.NORTH);

JPanel pane3 = new JPanel();
pane3.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
pane3.add(finalPaymentLabel, BorderLayout.NORTH);
pane3.add(displayFinalPayment, BorderLayout.CENTER);
pane3.add(textArea, BorderLayout.SOUTH);

inputPane.add(pane1, BorderLayout.NORTH);
inputPane.add(pane2, BorderLayout.CENTER);
inputPane.add(pane3, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
//////////////

//////////////
JPanel pane4 = new JPanel();
pane4.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
pane4.add(calculate, BorderLayout.NORTH);

outputPane.add(pane4, BorderLayout.NORTH);
outputPane.add(reset, BorderLayout.CENTER);
outputPane.add(exit, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
///////////////////

heading1.setFont(newFontOne);
heading2.setFont(newFontOne);
instructions.setFont(newFontTwo);
calculate.addActionListener(this);
reset.addActionListener(this);
exit.addActionListener(this);
enterPrincipal.requestFocus();
this.setSize(235, 375);

//fill fields with sample data
fillData();
}

private void fillData()
{
enterPrincipal.setText(“4500.00″);
selections.setSelectedIndex(0);
}

public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
Object source = e.getSource();
buff = new StringBuffer();
if(source == calculate)
{
int selection = selections.getSelectedIndex();
if (selection == 0)
{
Double data = (Double)calculateLoanOne();
String input = data.toString();
displayFinalPayment.setText(input);
textArea.setText(buff.toString());
}
else if (selection == 1)
{
Double data = (Double)calculateLoanTwo();
String input = data.toString();
displayFinalPayment.setText(input);
textArea.setText(buff.toString());

}
else if (selection == 2)
{
Double data = (Double)calculateLoanThree();
String input = data.toString();
displayFinalPayment.setText(input);
textArea.setText(buff.toString());
}
}
else if(source == reset)
{
enterPrincipal.setText(“”);
displayFinalPayment.setText(“”);
selections.setSelectedIndex(0);
textArea.setText(“”);
}
else if(source == exit)
{
System.exit(1);
}
}

public double calculateLoanOne()
{
//Declaration of variables
double periodInterest;
int totalPayments;
double loanInterest;

// Calling user input needed for the formula to calculate the payments
String sourceInput1 =
enterPrincipal.getText();

// Parsing the input
principalAmount =
Double.parseDouble(sourceInput1);

totalPayments = 7*12;
loanInterest = 0.0535;
periodInterest = 0.0045;

// Formula for calculating the monthly payment
finalPayment = principalAmount * (periodInterest * Math.pow((1 + periodInterest), totalPayments)) / ((Math.pow((1 + periodInterest), totalPayments) – 1));

// Formatting the monthly payment to round off two decimal places
DecimalFormat twoDForm =
new DecimalFormat(“#.##”);
String s = twoDForm.format(finalPayment);

/////////
double _principalAmount = principalAmount;
for(int i = 0; i < totalPayments; i++)
{
_principalAmount -= Double.valueOf(s);
buff.append("Payment "+(i+1)+" : "+
Double.valueOf(s)+" , Balance :"+
_principalAmount+" , Interest on Payment :"+
periodInterest+"n");
}
/////////

return Double.valueOf(s);
}

public double calculateLoanTwo()
{
//Declaration of variables
double periodInterest;
int totalPayments;
double loanInterest;

// Calling user input needed for the formula to calculate the payments
String sourceInput1 =
enterPrincipal.getText();

// Parsing the input
principalAmount =
Double.parseDouble(sourceInput1);

totalPayments = 15*12;
loanInterest = 0.0550;
periodInterest = 0.0045;

// Formula for calculating the monthly payment
finalPayment = principalAmount * (periodInterest * Math.pow((1 + periodInterest), totalPayments)) / ((Math.pow((1 + periodInterest), totalPayments) – 1));

// Formatting the monthly payment to round off two decimal places
DecimalFormat twoDForm =
new DecimalFormat("#.##");
String s = twoDForm.format(finalPayment);
/////////
double _principalAmount = principalAmount;
for(int i = 0; i < totalPayments; i++)
{
_principalAmount -= Double.valueOf(s);
buff.append("Payment "+(i+1)+" : "+
Double.valueOf(s)+" , Balance :"+
_principalAmount+" , Interest on Payment :"+
periodInterest+"n");
}
/////////

return Double.valueOf(s);
}

public double calculateLoanThree()
{
//Declaration of variables
double periodInterest;
int totalPayments;
double loanInterest;

// Calling user input needed for the formula to calculate the payments
String sourceInput1 =
enterPrincipal.getText();

// Parsing the input
principalAmount =
Double.parseDouble(sourceInput1);

totalPayments = 30*12;
loanInterest = 0.0575;
periodInterest = 0.0045;

// Formula for calculating the monthly payment
finalPayment = principalAmount * (periodInterest * Math.pow((1 + periodInterest), totalPayments)) / ((Math.pow((1 + periodInterest), totalPayments) – 1));

// Formatting the monthly payment to round off two decimal places
DecimalFormat twoDForm =
new DecimalFormat("#.##");
String s = twoDForm.format(finalPayment);
/////////
double _principalAmount = principalAmount;
for(int i = 0; i < totalPayments; i++)
{
_principalAmount -= Double.valueOf(s);
buff.append("Payment "+(i+1)+" : "+
Double.valueOf(s)+" , Balance :"+
_principalAmount+" , Interest on Payment :"+
periodInterest+"n");
}
/////////

return Double.valueOf(s);
}
}//end class

Carol asks…

Help with java program?

I did allright with the program, but now I have to add an array of 7 years payment amount @ 5.35%, 15 years payment amount @ 5.5%, and I have yet to be ableto put this into a decimal place of two. This has been a very complicated addition to an easy program. How can I do this?

import java.text.DecimalFormat;

public class MortgagePayment
{
public static void main(String args[]) throws Exception
{
//declare and construct variables
int loanAmt = 200000; // this is the principal loan amount
int loanTerm = 30; // this is the loan term in years
int monthNum = 360; // indicates the monthly line item number
int line = 0;
double intRate = 5.75; // this is the initial interest rate
double monthlyPay = 0; // monthly payment
double monPrinPay; // monthly principal payment
double newLoanBal = 200000; // the loan balance
double monIntPaid; // interest paid
double newIntRate = 0; // monthly interest rate

// displays in the console window
System.out.println();
System.out.println(“Welcome to Anne’s Mortgage Payment Calculator“);
System.out.println();
System.out.println(“This program will calculate and display: (1) Monthly mortgage payments”);
System.out.println(“The principal loan amount = $” + loanAmt);
System.out.println(“The interest rate = ” + intRate + “%”);
System.out.println(“The term of the loan = ” + loanTerm + ” years”);

// construct the formulas
loanTerm = loanTerm * 12;
newIntRate = (intRate * .01) / 12;
monthlyPay = loanAmt * newIntRate / (1 – Math.pow(1 + newIntRate, – loanTerm));

// displays the variable information and formula results
System.out.println();
System.out.println(“The monthly payment for a $” + loanAmt + ” over a ” + loanTerm + “-month term (30 years) at a “);
System.out.println(intRate + “% interest rate = $” + monthlyPay);
System.out.println();

}
}

admin answers:

I use String.format() before I use DecimalFormat. All you gain with DecimalFormat is the commas, if you are doing monetary figures American. Futhermore, if your end results is to make a nice report with columns that line up, that is a feature of String. Going to System.out.println(), java won’t recognize the tab character, you have to space the columns with blank spaces. Since you are using DecimalFormat

//>=================

import java.text.NumberFormat;

public class MainClass {

public static void main(String[] argv) {
double d = 1234567.89;
double n = -1234567.89;

String pattern = “#,###.##;(#,###.##)”;

NumberFormat nf = NumberFormat.getInstance();
if (nf instanceof DecimalFormat) {
DecimalFormat df = (DecimalFormat) nf;
df.applyPattern(pattern);
System.out.println(df.format(d));
System.out.println(df.format(n));
}

}
}
// >========================
or you can use StringFormat. The shortcut is System.out.printf

System.out.printf(“The monthly payment for a $%7.2f over a %3d-month term (30 years) at a %2.3f%% interest rate = $%4.2f%n”, loanAmt, loanTerm, intRate, monthlyPay);

% starts an entity
%3.2f is 3 numbers and 2 decimals, type float or double
%3d is 3 digits, type int
%% is an escaped percent sign
%n is a platform independent line return

Jenny asks…

On a FHA home loan do they look at the co-signers credit/income?

My husband does not have good credit but makes way more than I do. My credit is 704 or higher I believe, our debt to income ratio is 20%. I have worked at my job for 2 years and he has worked at his for 6-7. We can afford to pay a mortgage payment of 1209 according to an FHA calculator.
If he is my co-signer would they just look at his income and not his credit? Or they would still look at everything?
Thank you

admin answers:

They will consider income AND credit standing. Both are important to lenders in determining whether or not to grant a mortgage loan. If his credit is poor, he will not be accepted as a valid co-signer any more than he would be accepted for a mortgage.

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Your Questions About Mortgage Rates Forecast

Mary asks…

What are the odds of negotiation my debts – detail included?

Hello,

Without assigning blame for the past, here is where my spouse and I are at, and here is the situation.

Current Credit Score 710 -Trans Union

In December 2006 We enrolled in Credit Card Counseling:
December 2006 Credit Card Debt = $69,257
Current Credit Card Debt = $35,318
PMT = $1530 per month
Average Interest Rate = 9%

Mortgage = $169,483.56
interest= 7.55%
PMT =$1222 without Escrow $1457 with Escrow
Value = Estimated at $130 in this market.

Situation

Contract at work changed = Various decreases over 2009 growing to a negative $1400 per month reduction by year end.

Unplanned third child coming in July = $550 estimated monthly cost increase.

Second Job obtained = $777 per month increase

Total Net income monthly deficit by year end = $1,173.

We have approached both the Credit Card Counseling Company and the Mortgage Company and provided them all of the details, tax returns, w2′s ect. I have provided them documentation of the details of my forecast.

What do you think I might be able to renegotiate with the House and the Credit Card companies. We have never missed either payment. We are alright at the moment, just saving money bracing for the summer and fall. Our goal is to be in a position to remain current, keep the house and pay down the debts.
Judy, you did not answer the question?

admin answers:

I don’t know how much this will help you but you actually have a decent credit rating, have you thought of lowering your house payment by getting a lower interest rate by refinancing your mortgage. It could free up monthly income to reduce credit card debt

Daniel asks…

What are my chances of renegotiating debts?

Hello,

Without assigning blame for the past, here is where my spouse and I are at, and here is the situation.

Current Credit Score 710 -Trans Union

In December 2006 We enrolled in Credit Card Counseling:
December 2006 Credit Card Debt = $69,257
Current Credit Card Debt = $35,318
PMT = $1530 per month
Average Interest Rate = 9%

Mortgage = $169,483.56
interest= 7.55%
PMT =$1222 without Escrow $1457 with Escrow
Value = Estimated at $130 in this market.

Situation

Contract at work changed = Various decreases over 2009 growing to a negative $1400 per month reduction by year end.

Unplanned third child coming in July = $550 estimated monthly cost increase.

Second Job obtained = $777 per month increase

Total Net income monthly deficit by year end = $1,173.

We have approached both the Credit Card Counseling Company and the Mortgage Company and provided them all of the details, tax returns, w2′s ect. I have provided them documentation of the details of my forecast.

What do you think I might be able to renegotiate with the House and the Credit Card companies. We have never missed either payment. We are alright at the moment, just saving money bracing for the summer and fall. Our goal is to be in a position to remain current, keep the house and pay down the debts.

admin answers:

Well, first I can tell you that you are the best person to manage and make desisions on your money and debt, it seems that you are well educated so I will first point out that you should read the book the total money makeover by dave ramsey (you can pick it up at any library). Then, I will suggest you if you can find a lower interest rate for your house to go ahead and refi just to get your payment down.

As far as the credit cards, I myself after reading the book and trying to find ways to cut back I called each credit card company and asked them to give me a locked payment, usually they will give you a lower interest and payment for one year and a little higher interest but low payment for two years the caviat is that your accounts will be closed, but this really doesn’t matter as long as you are making payments. By the way if you have AMEX (you’re screwed) they do not negotiate anything. So if you do, I’d try to pay that one off first.

Then using the snowball method design in the book I mentioned you can start your way into getting debt free, and not paying other people to do the job you can do.

You just have to be very disciplined, and for a little while stop shopping and stop dining out. Sacrifice for at least two years so later you can live like no one else.

Good Luck!!!!

Laura asks…

Should I wait some weeks before illegaly emigrating to USA?

Rigth now I am reading “The Economist” and their forecast is for more plummeting of US currency, my Gold and Euros will buy more of US properties. What do you think ?
“Even cuts in interest rates, which financial markets are pricing in increasingly aggressively, would not necessarily address the underlying problem. Restoring faith in American mortgage markets, and the cornucopia of investments derived from them, is the bigger challenge. To do that, many had hoped this week that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, America’s two governement-sponsored mortgage giants, could step in and mop up some of the subprime loans that the private sector is too fearful to buy. But President George Bush appeared to dismiss such a response on August 8th, which may be another reason why the markets so suddenly lost their nerves once again” – The Economist

admin answers:

NEVER enter Illegally!

Paul asks…

Is the US heading for another great depression?

The avalanche of bankruptcies has begun. Six US companies of substance have defaulted on bonds over the past fortnight, against 17 for the whole of last year. Diane Vazza, S&P’s credit chief, says defaults are rising at almost twice the rate of past downturns. Some 174 US companies are trading at “distress levels”.

The California city of Vallejo (117,000 inhabitants) has just made history by opting for Chapter 9 bankruptcy, the result of tax erosion from a 26pc fall in local house prices. Half Moon Bay may be next.

Talk that the worst is already behind America seems to just be wishful thinking. In addition, forecasts indicate that the level of mortgage defaults will increase in 2008/2009 as a new range of non sub-prime mortgages ratchet up their interest rates.

How bad do you think this crisis will get?

admin answers:

I don’t believe the worst is over yet. It may turn around after a new president gets elected and that will take some time.<<<<<<<<<<<Just my opinion!

Sharon asks…

Halal or Islamic Mortgages?

There are quite a few groups/companies on the market who claim to be offering “shariah compliant” or halal mortgage.

The normal mortgage is prohibited in Islam because Islam does not allow usury or riba (higher interest).

The way these halal mortgages work is they basically forecast a market trend. If you want to buy a property. You tell them and they buy it for you and then you pay them back over installments.

For example: They buy a property for 100k. And they sell it to you for 200k. But they agree for you to pay 200k over monthly installments of 25 years. Regardless of whatever happens to the base interest rate of Bank of England or whatever.

They claim, this method doesnt break Shariah law and they claim to have favour of many Islamic scholars.

The above example in simple terms can be explained as: The price of a property is 100k and you’ll pay them 100k over 25 years. As you are not yet the legal owner until the 25th year, you pay the rent of that house for 25 years which accumulates to additional 100k.

Many people accept this and many deny this as compliant with Shariah.

Whats your opinion?

[P.S. Please dont copy and paste things from google search, I can do it myself]

admin answers:

Good information ..this is the way its done as i heard ina lecture….but very few bank follow this very few countries have islamic banking
and about the the money deposited in the bank .bank willl invest depositers money in bank as well as gives loan based on shariath rules …and depositers have to share risk .if the investment in market was loss even depositers shares the loss.this is the way islamic bank runs i guess

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Your Questions About Reverse Mortgage Rates

Carol asks…

VanCity Credit Union raises line of credit interest rates?

I posted a question about this about a week ago, but am not getting anymore answers, and have found additional info.

I got a letter from VanCity stating that my original line of credit agreements (I have two, one secured) did not allow them to raise the incremental interest rate. Therefore, they enclosed two amendments to sign allowing them to change the incremental rate up 1% and allowing for additional increases any time they want. The worst of it is, they’ve put in the amendments that they can change any provision in the agreements at any time. Meaning, they can start tacking on additional fees, lower the amount etc. The letter goes on to say if I don’t sign and get these amendments back to them by July 21, 2009, they will close down (demand payment) the accounts. One is my mortgage.

I have just contacted a lawyer, and he said because there is no additional consideration offered, the amendment is voidable. I would have to sign the amendments and then ask them to void them. If they won’t, then I would have to take them to court.

I’m thinking this would be best as a class action suit because every member with a line of credit issued prior to March/09 was sent this letter and amendments.

Can anyone confirm, or deny what this lawyer said? What is the best/easiest way to get VanCity to reverse this for all members?

admin answers:

Hi, we also got this amendment letter from Vancity. We were so outraged that we couldn’t believe how they would expect their
long term customers to sign this. We have been with Vancity for over ten years. So far we have refused to sign and we are waiting to see if they are going to proceed with their threat to take action on our line of credit. Definitely, we will go and get a lawyer to fight this. If anyone else want to start a class action suit, I will be really happy to join. I am quite busy at this moment, but we may be upset enough if they keep pushing us to sign this amendment that we will take this to the highest court,and Vancity’s image would be totally
tarnished. They won’t have any credibility if they think they can
force people to sign a very one sided, heavy-handed agreement like this. I hope there will be enough people out there strong enough to stand up to Vancity

Linda asks…

Does anyone else remember the effects of a conservative government?

Negative Equity affected over 1.7 million households. Mortgage rates of over 15%?. Inflation of 18%? Public expenditure cuts on the state education system. Thatcher the milk snatcher (and bosom buddy of Reagan), reduced expenditures on social services, funding cuts for higher education, public housing? Yes they lowered income tax, but upped the tax on everything else, hitting the poor hard and benefiting the wealthy.
Yes we have mammoth debt under labour, but there is a world wide recession, it would have affected whoever was in power.
The selling off and closing down of state owned companies (BP, British airways, Water authorities, national grid, British steel, British shipbuilders, British telecom, etc. etc. etc.) and withdrawing subsidy to others?.
Unemployment at over 4 million and yet they rant about the possibility of unemployment hitting 3 million under Brown (largely due to an almost worldwide economic decline)?
Poll tax? Output reduced by 30%
Sure things improved for some under conservatives, mainly/only the 10% who held 90% of the wealth.
To me conservatives are a kind of reverse Robin Hood, they steal from the poor to give to the rich.
Anyone who is not independently wealthy better buckle up for truly hard times if the incompetent, smarmy Cameron gets any authority. Dark times ahead for the poor, and slightly prosperous times for the wealt
(((Tao))) a sad day indeed :-( I share your feeling, except I don’t have a todger to hand over to a lunatic, last time British politics made me feel like this was the day John Smith died and I lost hope.
Robert Abuse, Those are the memories that haunt me too and make me feel scared at today’s results.
On a plus side, if history repeats itself then there will be loads of new vacancies created for bailiffs as there was under the Tories.

admin answers:

Yep, before it we worked a 35 hour week for good wages, houses were affordable for all, I ran a car just a couple of years old and my family had a decent holiday every year.

After Thatcher had finished with us we had lost the Coal Industry, Steel manufacturing, Ship building and the Motor industry was running on empty.
We had some of the lowest paid workers in the first world and yet we had the highest paid company directors in the world.
Before the last Conservative government, unemployment was hovering just below a million, by the time it had finished with us it was over five million.

The death of John Smith was a tragedy.
Do not lose hope, get involved and fight back, before this new lot sell us to the dogs and get us involved in more senseless wars for their own profit.

Many will not remember those years now, they are about to find out how bad it can be. Living conditions will fall within 18 months, workers will be on the dole, benefits they paid all their lives for will be cut and at the same time they will be vilified for being lazy. Then they will see their own government attack them again, with soldiers dressed as policeman, fighting anything that they disagree with.

Battle of Stonehenge ?
Miners Strike ?

Privatisation ! I was in the water industry as an engineer and surveyor, my area was the Cherwell Valley. After privatisation (we were bought by a French company) all but a few men were out on their ears and my area expanded to everything North of the Thames !
When there were problems, we had to phone people that the company had sacked, because everyone that knew their jobs had gone. You can imagine what they said.

They sold everything we had, from Electricty supply to our National Airline. Mostly to foreigners.
Graveyards in London sold for £1 to their Tory chums, Lord and Lady something or other, property worth millions, sold for a measly quid.
Charities that ran housing associations ! Houses left to rack and ruin, the directors being paid seven figure salaries, the people left to live in damp houses that were falling to pieces.

So many thousands out of work that could not afford to pay the horrendous water bills were taking a dump in a cardboard box, because they had their water cut off.

And then the media slagged them off for it !

Don`t get me started… Gosh, horrible times, really, really awful times. 16 hour days just to keep the family going and 80,000 miles a year on my car just for work.

The Poll Tax ! The pensioners cottages under the rating system paid around £70 a year, Poll Tax put it up to over a thousand, but the Lord and Lady in our local Castle SAVED £1000s under the Poll Tax. I can vividly remember the misery.
I can also remember that the local Tory Party workers would not come to our houses to canvass, they were terrified of us beating the living cr*p out of them in our village, but they still seemed to win every bloody election for 13 years. How ? I know hundreds of people, but only about 4 that actually admitted to voting Tory

F*cking great and I have met Cameron three times. He is my MP in Oxfordshire.
Do not ask what I think of him.

They do not know what they, the British public, have let themselves in for.

EDIT @ Simm 101, most people are prepared to work, I agree that an incredibly small percentage of people are inherently lazy. But for every winner under the Tories, there were 5000 losers or men and women like me that saw their workload increase exponentially for no increase in salary whilst being told constantly by our foreign bosses that we were lucky to have a job !
The Tory system likes high unemployment, it keeps wages low and working hours high. Us common folk lose and the fat cats get fatter.

At least under Blair-Brown we thought we had a chance of at least getting through to retirement.

Now I am retired and I am terrified that they will take away everything that I spent my entire life working my nuts off for.

Nancy asks…

If you put money into foreign banks instead of domestic banks can you increase your profit margin?

forgive me for my lack of knowledge in this area, I am still in H.S. but I would like some info on how banks work because my father is about to come into some money and I want to know a good strategy to make more.

So our house is worth 640K and he is going to do a reverse mortgage and take out 320K. The bank gets some type of fee that costs 25K, that won’t be charged interest. So officially my Dad gets 295K and has to pay 2 percent interest on it that may increase a tiny amount each year. He is going to use 87K right away to pay off the mortgage on the house that was being paid off at an interest rate of 4 percent increase per year.

so with the 208K left from the reverse mortgage it would be put in a bank and let the interest accumulate, but the domestic banks only allow a 1% increase per year which would earn $2000 but after taxes $1500.

Are there any foreign banks that have an interest rate of more than 1% per year and if yes how much is taken off due to taxes?

admin answers:

No, because you pay double or triple the taxes.

Ruth asks…

For people who want to stay in their homes would this help you?

A relief package that includes these options: 3 months loan defferment, reverse mortgage, buy back option and A TEMPORARY OR PERMANANT REDUCTION IN INTREST RATE. These options are already available through HUD and can be found in the HUD Mortgagee letters. Please help yourselves and contact your state senator and President Bush and let them know that a very minimal change in the eligibility requirements ie adding language that these options are available not just for incidences of natural disaster but also for national fiscal crisis can KEEP YOU IN YOUR HOME! The mortgage companies greatly dislike doing it but a concerted effort and a national push for change can get you immediate results. Good luck America.
If memory serves me well, these options are available for persons who actually reside in their homes or have multi-family housing up to 4 units. You must be atleast 3 months behind in your mortgage payments and have current employment in a same or related field ie not a brand new venture. The language in reference to PMI may need modification. This is not a rant.

admin answers:

Why not let the government buy their homes and then rent it to them as section 8 housing?

Or maybe declare the buyers as mentally incompetent and declare them wards of the state?

It’s hard to blame the buyers as most of them were educated in government schools and were taken advantage of by greedy mortgage companies. They should be protected from the complexities and hardships of this world.

Added: No bfdco8 this is a rant.

Lizzie asks…

disability living allowance and all benefits and lower income this is how it look s?

Liberal-Conservative coalition we are being sent back to conservaitive Britain 80s Britain and the familys on disability living allowance and Child Benefit and child tax credit s . cuts child tax credit people on any benefits but this is how its going to worke •child tax credit – the child element of child tax credit will increase by £150 above indexation in April 2011 and £60 above indexation in April 2012
The amount of Child Benefit you’ll get depends on how many children you’re entitled to get Child Benefit for, and the current rates of Child Benefit.

When you start getting Child Benefit you’ll get paid at the rates for the current year. The amount you receive usually goes up in April each year.

The rates are as follows:

Who the allowance is for Current weekly amount
Eldest or only child £20.30
Additional children – per child £13.40
Guardian’s Allowance – per child £14.30
What happens if two families join together, or a family splits?
Only one child in your family, or extended family, qualifies for the higher rate of Child Benefit. If two families join together, the eldest child is the one who qualifies for the higher rate. If you are entitled to Child Benefit for any other children in the new family you will get the lower rate for each of them.

If a family splits up you can get the higher rate for your eldest child, as long as you still qualify for Child Benefit for them.

•child tax credit – families earning more than £40,000/yr won’t get child tax credit from April 2011

•Child Benefit – rates will stay the same for three years
•welfare reform – Housing Benefit and Disability Living Allowance will be reformed to focus on those most in need
•benefits and tax credits will be worked out using the Consumer Prices Index instead of the Retail Prices Index from April 2011.child tax credit – families earning more than £40,000/yr won’t get child tax credit from April 2011 and this unfaire on the people on the and wive the VAT GOING UP TO 20% familys are ging to feel the pene and Rich are going to get rich . the familys on benefits are going to pay .houseing benefits
Budget 2010 announced a package of reforms to Housing Benefit, including:

•changing the way Local Housing Allowances are worked out from October 2011
•uprating Local Housing Allowances from 2013-14 using the Consumer Price Index (CPI)
•setting a maximum Local Housing Allowance amount for each property size
•from October 2010 Support for Mortgage Interest payments will use an interest rate equal to the Bank of England’s published monthly Average Mortgage Rate
•maximum limits on Housing Benefit (from £250 a week for a one-bedroom property to £400 a week for a four-bedroom or larger)
•from April 2013, the size of houses for working age people in the social sector will reflect family size
•reversing the freeze since 2001-02 in deductions for non-dependents – these will be uprated in April 2011 based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI)
•from April 2013 reducing Housing Benefit to 90 per cent after 12 months if you’re also getting Jobseekers Allowance
•increasing the budget for hardship cases (Discretionary Housing Payments) by £40 million
covering the cost of an extra room for disabled claimants who need a carer•covering the cost of an extra room for disabled claimants who need a carer s and how is this going to worke for people on .Benefits . the coalition and david cameron is macking the people pay more so he can not do any thing to help us just macke us pay more .images of Haiti. The full impact of the earthquake is still emerging, but it’s clear that hundreds of thousands of people have either been killed or left homeless.

It’s essential that this small nation gets the help it needs as quickly as possible.

Britain is an incredibly compassionate and generous nation. We showed that five years ago when the British public raised £350m in the wake of the Boxing Day Tsunami, and I’ve no doubt we will show it again.

The best way for you to help, if you haven’t already, is to donate directly to the Disaster Emergency Committee. Whether you can afford to give £5 or £500, it all makes a difference.and this is the income of people on Rates
Disability Living Allowance is in two parts – the care component and the mobility component. You may be able to get just one component or both.

Care component Weekly rate
Highest rate £71.40
Middle rate £47.80
Lowest rate £18.95
Mobility component Weekly rate
Higher rate £49.85
Lower rate £18.95

admin answers:

Agreed = we can’t afford to pay out to support other nations citizens when our own need help.

Time to put a stop to all UK Taxpayer funded foreign aid…

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Your Questions About Mortgage Interest Rates

William asks…

How do mortgage interest rates work?

My mum pays around 7% interest rate on the mortgage, yet she said £200 a month goes on the house price, where as about £700 a month is in the interest? How on earth does that work though if the interest rate is only like 7%. Isn’t that like a 350% increase and not 7%. I’m lost.
to SO: I’m not clicking on those links so you get paid. Nice idea though.

admin answers:

The idea behind a mortgage (a fixed rate mortgage) is that you pay the same payment every month for 30 years (or 15 years or whatever the term of the loan is).

The “amortization” refers to how often the interest is calculated. Mortgage loans are “amortized” on a monthly basis. That means that your mother gets a bill for the interest every month. Every month, she pays 0.58% in interest on the outstanding balance for the month. (The 0.58% is derived by dividing the 7% annual interest rate by 12 since there are 12 months per year.) Let’s say that the outstanding balance in January is $100,000. The cost of that money for the month of January is $583. If your mother’s monthly payment is $1,000, then $583 goes to Interest and the rest ($417) goes to Principal (to reduce the amount your mom owes on the loan). So in February, the outstanding balance is not $100,000 but $99,583. If you calculate the Interest bill for February (0.58% of $99,583), it comes to $581 ($2 less than she paid the month before). Since she pays $1,000 every month, $2 more goes to reducing the principal balance for that month ($419). In March, her principal balance is $99,164.

The bottom line is that in the beginning of EVERY mortgage, the amount of the payment that goes toward Principal is very small at the beginning of the loan but the amount going to Principal gradually increases with every payment. The longer the term of the loan, the more slowly it increases. (In other words, a 30-year loan amortizes more slowly than a 15-year loan). At the end of the loan, the majority of the montly payment goes toward Principal.

Everything that I’ve described above pertains to a Fixed Rate Mortgage. If your mother has an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM), then Interest Rate adjusts at certain points in the loan and the loan is reamortized. If your mother has a “balloon payment” at the end of the mortgage, then this will also change a normal amortization.

According to my calculations, if your mom’s loan is a 30-year fixed rate loan with a monthly payment of GBP900, her original principal balance was GBP135,277.

There are tons of free Amortization Schedules online. Search for one, plug in your mom’s interest rate, outstanding principal balance and the loan term (usually in months, not years) and the Amortization Schedule will show you how the money that goes toward Principal gradually increases and the money that goes toward Interest gradually decreases over time. If you look through your mother’s loan papers, you will almost certainly find an Amortization Schedule.

Hope this helps.

Good luck!

Thomas asks…

Henry Paulson comments on freezing mortgage interest rates?

Henry Paulson said he is confident an agreement will soon emerge to help thousands of homeowners avoid mortgage defaults by temporarily holding their interest rates steady.

Are the Feds shoving the “Subprime Mortgage” crisis under the rug (until next admin takes over maybe!). Do you think this is a good move for the economy?
Is there a cost associated with this? How big and who is paying for it?

admin answers:

A mortgage is a contract. By allowing these deadbeats to break the contract and get their interest rate frozen it will encourage more of this type of risk taking that will just encourage the folks to do it all again thinking the government to bail them out again.

Donna asks…

Fixed rate mortgage and interest rates going low?

I have a fixed 5 year mortgage rate and few days ago my friend mentioned that because interest rates are so low at the moment it means Im overpaying and therefore it should wipe off a year or so of my mortgage. Is it true?? Im clueless in mortgage things …..

admin answers:

If your mortgage is fixed rate, then that is the rate you’ll be paying on it, regardless of what is happening to interest rates in general.

For example, say when you took the mortgage out they said “we’ll charge you 5% interest fixed for 5 years” then even if mortgage rates go to 1% or 20%, you’ll still be charged 5% for the next 5 years. It’s a “gamble” that you entered into. If mortgage rates went up to 20%, you win, because you still pay 5%. If they went down to 1%, then you lose because you’re still paying them 5%.

Paying at your fixed rate will not pay your mortgage off any earlier, you won’t get a rebate because interest rates have gone down, you will still be on your “fixed” interest rate.

Depending on how much you owe, how much the interest rate is that you are paying at the moment, how long you have left to run till the end of the 5 years and how much of a penalty you will incur for terminating your agreement, it may be worth looking to change your mortgage to either a variable one or (if you prefer the security) a new, lower, fixed rate mortgage. Only in that way, by using the extra money that you would have been paying, you may be able to pay off your mortgage earlier.

Chris asks…

How does LTV affect mortgage interest rates?

My mortgage was approved putting 10% down for a purchase. My appraisal was not conducted yet, so it is 90% LTV based on the purchase price. If my appraisal comes in higher or if I put another 5% – 10% down, could this affect my interest rate? (Not taking PMI into consideration). Basically, do LTV’s under 90% offer any reduction in interest rate?

admin answers:

It could. I wish I could be more specific but without knowing which lender you asking about, I simply can’t give you a better answer. They fall into three categories. Some haven’t and probably wont; some will give a better rate if your record is good; the last will only do it when the numbers get better.pp

Maria asks…

Are mortgage interest rates lower within 30 days of closing than 45 or 60 days?

Should I wait until the 30 day window to “lock in” an interest rate for a new mortgage?

admin answers:

The shorter your lock, the less it costs. If you want to lock your rate for a longer amount of time, it will cost more money because a lender takes on risk to guarantee that rate for you. So yes, a 30-day lock would be less, but 15 would be even less. Less risk = less cost.

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Your Questions About Mortgage Rates Calculator

Chris asks…

What is the best way to estimate a mortgage payment?

I’ve seen so many mortgage calculators but when I called a bank to get pre-approved the payments were way higher. I got pre approved but here’s the numbers: House is 299,000. Taxes are 5,900. Insurance 1300 a year. Mortgage rate is 5.25 for fixed 30 year. If i put down 15k I would expect a payment around 2100 a month give or take a hundred bucks according to almost all online calculators. My bank said my payment woud be closer to 2500. This does not inlcude closing costs (I planned to pay them right away) Am I missing something or is my bank trying to screw me because I make good money and have good credit?

admin answers:

A lot of mortgage calculators could have assumptions in the fine print – which is why the two estimates are off. I doubt the mortgage company is trying to screw you, they use a pretty standard equation for every person.

The taxes are something that’s determined by the city you’re in – they are property taxes the bank is collecting from you in an escrow to pay the city. Closing costs are paid upon closing, they have nothing to do with monthly payments anyways.

If the numbers seem off to you, I would call the bank, and have them explain each cost, and then compare it against the assumptions on one of the mortgage calculators. It’s normal for the mortgage calculators to be less accurate because it’s not customized to your situation as much.

Ken asks…

current interest rates?

I have been trying to use some of these mortgage calculators and the default interest rates are around 8%…what is a reasonable interest rate for first time homebuyers with not great credit but a good income to debt ratio? And how much does credit score effect your interest rates

admin answers:

Here are the going rates for mortgages, this is if you have very good credit

http://bankrate.com/brm/rate/mtg_home.asp

Here is an article that demonstrates how much interest rates change for given FICO scores, although this uses data from a year ago.

Http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/Financial_Literacy/March07_credit_score_mortgage_a1.asp

Ultimately it’s up to each individual bank and how much risk they are willing to take. Right now, they don’t want much/any risk so 8% might be the best you could get.

George asks…

What is the calculator used by mortgage and credit card companies when they “weigh” out income vs. expenses…?

What is the calculator used by mortgage and credit card companies when they “weigh” out income vs. expenses:
Thanks to the new obama plan; mortgage and cc companies do this for people who have hardships/ financially distress to determine a lower payment every month and lower the interest rate…etc.
The reason i want to use one is because my mortgage company (EMC) are true scumbags; they are taking my info over the phone and using their calculators but are answering back like used car salesmen… They literally told me at one time “sir, you’re just trying to jew us down”….
So i just want to see what they “actually” see when they plug my numbers in, cuz the amounts they’ve been telling me “i can afford” are impossible!

thanks in advance for your help
answerer #1: I’m not sure that’s the case.. and if it is; can you elaborate a little? is it gross monthly income?
btw, here are the 8 expense categories they ask about:

rent (or mortgage payment)
utilities
phone/internet/tv
car
insurance
credit card payments
food
gas/ transportation

and then they ask for monthly income, then they make me hold while they plug numbers in their “calculator

admin answers:

They are using a 4th grade math equation…not some complex “calculator”. Here is the equation: Mortgage amount / monthly income CANNOT exceed 31%.

James asks…

When calculating tax savings from mortgage interest, should you use your marginal tax rate or average tax rate

The TurboTax and HR Block quick calulators appear to use average tax rate to determine tax savings. Our average tax rate was 15% this year. Most other calculators specifically designed for calculating mortgage interest tax savings use marginal tax rate, which for us is 25%. Which are we supposed to use for an accurate estimation of our tax savings? We’re thinking of buying a home and this weighs heavily in our decision process.

admin answers:

Compute your tax with out a home then add the home and see how much it changes.
If you get the standard deduction for a couple it is over 10,000 so that part is no savings. When you have a house you have property taxes and interest to deduct plus then your state income or sales tax and charity is deductable.
If you aren’t doing charity and pay $3,000 for property tax only any interest over about 6K will reduce your tax and it will reduce it at your marginal rate so you will save 25% of 6K or about 1,500 maybe 2,000 if you have high state taxes.

William asks…

Round Up Payment amounts to the 10ths in Java?

Am having trouble figuring out where to put a code in to round up payment amount and internterest rates in a mortgage calculator Java program code.

I have figured out how to get the math in formula
and the calculator works, I just can’t get the output
to read as rounded up and to the 10ths. ( i.e. 0.00 )

admin answers:

First, that would be rounded to the hundredths.

For accurate math with rounding, use java.math.BigDecimal.

For example:
String asString = “101.235″;
BigDecimal value = new BigDecimal(asString);
BigDecimal rounded = value.setScale(2, BigDecimal.ROUND_HALF_UP);
System.out.println(rounded);

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Your Questions About Mortgage Rates

Ruth asks…

Why do mortgage rates go up when the term goes up?

I’m looking at mortgage rates for closed term, ranging from 6 months to 10 years, and I’ve noticed that the rates actually increase as the length of the term gets higher. Why is this the case?

admin answers:

The general “rule” in banking and in finance is that the longer the loan, the higher the interest rate.

The reason is that the lender takes on more risk with longer term loans. For example, if the lender commits to a fixed rate 10 year loan to you, but rates rise sharply within 3 years, they lose out on getting that higher interest rate. (conversely, if rates fall, then the bank wins on that fixed 10-year loan to you).

(BTW this sounds like a type of mortgage offered in Canada. Also, interest rates are relatively low now, even if rates are up slightly from a month ago. And, the general fear is that interest rates in Canada will go higher in the years ahead. So locking in something fixed now is a good deal for us the consumers, in my opinion).

Betty asks…

Is it true that Mortgage rates go up usually in summer and come down during the end of the year?

Hi,
I am a planning to get a home in Bay Area. Is it true that Mortgage Rates usually go up in summer and eventually calm down during the end of the year?

Thanks

admin answers:

Sounds like hogwash to me…I suppose in theory the demand for housing may be heavier in spring and summer in some areas…and someone is trying to say that housing demand influences mortgage rate in some way…but I doubt it’s true…certainly not everywhere and at all times.

Mortgage rates fluctuate according to the bond market — supply and demand of money and credit. Predicting the Bond Market is almost as impossible as predicting the Stock Market. Professionally, baring unforeseen circumstances (a HUGE qualification, BTW) , I would hazard to guess that tomorrows market will look a lot like to days market. Beyond that, only a fool would make a prediction backed by serious money…

Laura asks…

What are current calgary mortgage rates at?

I’m refinancing my home and I want to know what current mortgage rates are at in calgary? I’m not sure I want variable I think I want to go fixed. My credit is good.

admin answers:

On the fixed rates here are the average rates as of today – they are always changing!

1 year – 3.25%
2 year – 3.90%
3 year – 3.85%
4 year – 4.10%
5 year – 4.15%
10 year – 5.25%

And I know you said that you were asking about the fixed rates but just for info that variable rate is prime 2.5 + .8 (3.30) which is common right now.

Check out www.mortgagebrokerate.com if you want to keep up with the current mortgage rates for calgary, alberta and canada.

Thomas asks…

What affect will the government bailout have on future mortgage rates?

We are currently building a home and won’t actually secure the financing until February or March of 2009. What is the likelihood mortgage rates will go down and by how much? We plan on locking in a rate, but don’t want wait too long before they start going up.

admin answers:

You should be able to get a lock with a float down option. That is, you can protect yourself from rising rates by “capping” your rate. If rates are lower once the house is substantially complete, you can float down to the market 30-60 days prior to closing.

No one can say what will happen with rates with any certainty except they will change. However, it stands to reason that the rates should get better because now the Fed is explicitly guaranteeing Freddie and Fannie obligations so the yields on those securities (which drive retail rates) should fall until they are approximately equally to Treasury securities of the same maturity. At present, there is a 1% difference in the yields. The markets should adjust until that spread is substantially reduced. Otherwise, a smart investor would prefer mortgage backed securities over Treasuries as they have a higher return with no additional risk.

For some reason, the markets have not reacted fully to this change, but that may be because the bailout is still up in the air. Freddie and Fannie assets are not the toxic assets involved in the bailout generally speaking, but they have lost favor with Foreign investors in particular since the crisis began.

In short, you may not need to worry about what will happen with rates provided your rate lock allows you the option to float down once the home is nearly complete.

Good luck.

Chris asks…

What is the deal with mortgage rates advertised on Yahoo Finance or Bankrate?

It seems that when I call to inquire about these good deals (for example, really low rates with 0 points), I am always told something like, “Well, that deal is for something else.” How does one get an accurate mortgage quote online from these sites? Or is it impossible to get an accurate quote without calling the companies directly?

admin answers:

This is a example of how the lenders try to get the business from the people like you. They advertize low rate, but if you call them, this rate is not for you, because your credit is not good or you don’t have enough equity or down payment. Every costumer is diferent and those low rates are reserved for the best costumers or they are not available now, because market change and rates go up ( sometimes they change 3 times a day). Please be carefull about applaing for the loan over the internet, because if you will put your info- you will be bombarded with emails and phone calls from diffrent lenders. My advice- call the local bank or broker to find out about rate for your situation and they will be more like to explain to you why this or that.

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Your Questions About Mortgage Rates Calculator

David asks…

How can you call a web page that allow you to enter data and receive answers from a progam?

The web has several pages which let you fill in forms and returns information. There are calculators for mortgage rates, tax to pay, those that do unit conversions etc. If I want to run many different cases it seems I need to run them manually. I wondered if there was a way to do this automatically say from excel, or failing that from some kind of other programming language.

admin answers:

I think you should read about server side technologies. Besides there are tons of free tools for information processing that can be Integrated into your site

Steven asks…

How much would i pay a month on a $189,800 house?

30 year term
7.17% interest rate
One mortgage calculator says $1284.49, another says $1027.59, and another says $934.40, Which one is right?
Oh, sorry, i would put down 30,000

admin answers:

With a mortage of $159,800 ($189,800-30,000) at 7.17% for 30 years I am getting $1,081. Of course, that does not include insurance or real estate taxes which varies signficantly. For example, my monthly mortgage payment is $2,325 a month. About $1,990 is for the mortgage and interest, and $335 is for taxes and insurance.

If you are dealing with a reputable mortgage broker, they should be able to give you an estimate on the taxes and insurance.

Are you pay for the closing costs out of your pocket (and on top of the downpayment)? If you finance the closing costs, your monthly payment will be slightly higher.

Good luck!

Mark asks…

Is there an explanation for these mortgage results?

I just used a mortgage calculator provided online by a real estate firm in the Midwest to come up with the following for three different (theoretical) down payment amounts

Price (In the neighborhood of ) $ 489,000
Down Payment $ 400/4000/40,000
Interest Rate 4%
Mortgage Term 30 years
Payment $ 2, 338 / 2, 320 / 2, 137

This may not be all banks’ takes, and the interest rate may affect things a little, but isn’t mortgage rate suppose to be somewhat uniform across the board in the US? As it stands, there seems precious little monthly advantage to making a larger down payment. Why is that? Why is it that so much is required.

The mortgage calculator at www.mortgage.org (for example) doesn’t even take into account your initial down payment, only the loan amount. Is that an important difference?

admin answers:

The different down payments will result in different monthly payments (although the interest rates did not change to reflect the normal difference you will see in interest rates for .1%, 1%, and 10% down payments.

Thomas asks…

How much of a drop in interest rates is needed to make refinancing worth all the closing costs and fees?

We are currently at a 6.5% fixed 30year mortgage on 290,000. We are wondering if it is worth it to refinance to a 5.5% fixed 30 year mortgage. We’ve done the calculator on the mortgage websites and it shows a $200 a month savings but we have no idea what the closing costs would be.

admin answers:

There are other things to consider other than rate, that matter:

1. How long have you been in your existing mortgage? If you have had it for 5 years, why go back into another 30 yr mortgage?
2. How long do you plan on staying in your home? If less than 5 years, then take out a 5 yr ARM, possibly even interest-only, if any longer than 5 years, then a 30-yr fixed would be a great, since there is very little difference between a 7 yr ARM and a 30-yr fixed in today’s market.
3. How much will it appraise for (based on recent sales in your area)?
4. Will you be liminating PMI, or assuming PMI if you refinance? Meaning, if you refinance for 290K plus costs, if you are over 80% of the value of your home, known as Loan-to-value, or LTV, you may have to pay PMI, which for 2008 is not tax deductible last time I checked, so you may want to find out if the bank offers a no PMI loan, and whether it benefits you, as mortgage interest is fully tax deductible (No PMI loans have slightly higher rates, as the PMI is financed into the rate, but the payment is generally lower as compared to a loan with PMI)
5. Are you taking any cash out to consolidate any debt, or for home improvements? If you are, then that’s fine.
6. Closing and Settlement Costs – typically on the high side you would expect them to be about 4% of your loan amount, for a conventional loan. Some banks offer no-closing cost loans, but the rates are slightly higher than with a conventional mortgage. The costs though, would be rolled into the mortgage, therfore, you would need to recalculate your payment based off of the new balance. Does this make sense?
7. Refinancing your mortgage for the same amount, meaning you are taking no cash out, is worthwhile if you will recuperate the cost of doing it within 4 years of the refinance. Personally, I restrict that time frame to 2.5-3 years for my own choices.

But in the end, a drop in arte of .75% or more is generally a good reason to refinance. You may also want to ask about buying the rate down to a lower rate. Remember to use the rule of calculating how loang it will take you to recoup that cost to determine if it is worth it or not.

Also, ask about escrows – the bank may offer lower rates if you escrow your taxes and insurance. If not, then I would recommend not escrowing and putting the money into savings or a CD every month and earn the interest on it.

Hope this helps.

Maria asks…

How do you figure out how long it will take to pay off your mortgage?

I have a 30 year fixed rate 5.75% mortgage for $292,000. My payments began in March 2006. I am paying it off aggressively and to date owe $243,000. My monthly payments are roughly $2,000 but I’ve been paying almost double that each month. If I keep up at this rate (and maybe even more each month), will it only take me 15 years to pay off? Where can I find a calculator to figure this out? Thank you for your help!

admin answers:

Any financial calculator will allow you to easily figure this out – I’ve been using an HP-12C for 20 years and it’s still an industry standard. If you currently have $243M left and you’re paying $4M per month, I figure you’ll have the loan paid down in 72 months, or just 6 years. If you pay just $2M per month, I figure you’ll have the loan paid down in 183 months, or just 3 months more than 15 years. Your required payment based on the original terms should only be $1,704, unless your payment includes impounds for taxes/insurance.

You can also use the financial functions on an Excel spreadsheet, but whether you do that or use a calculator, the exercise is the same. Enter your known variables, then solve for the unknown. Knowns: PV (present value=$243,000), i (interest rate=5.75%/12), FV (future value=0), and pmt (payment=4,000); solve for n (number of periods, which will give you 72 months).

Financial calculators should cost between $50-85. Good luck.

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