How to Calculate a Mortgage in California
Property value and the area in which a property is located will both affect your monthly mortgage payment. Typically, your mortgage payments will be higher when you purchase a more expensive property. California has some of the most expensive homes in the nation, and property taxes can be significantly higher in particular areas. To calculate a mortgage in California you need to know how much you will be paying for private mortgage insurance (required for a down payment that is less than 20 percent of the sale price), property taxes and homeowner's insurance.
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Instructions
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Find an online mortgage calculator. There are a number of financial and real estate companies and lenders that have mortgage calculators on their websites to help you, such as MortgageLoan.com and MortgageLendersPLUS.com.
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Subtract your down payment amount from the sale price of the home you are buying to determine your mortgage loan amount. If you are putting less than 20 percent down on the property, most likely you will be required by the lender, to purchase private mortgage insurance (PMI) which will be an added expense to your monthly payments.
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Estimate annual property taxes for your property. Property taxes can be included in your monthly payment or you can pay them separately on your own. You may be required to include the taxes in your total monthly mortgage payments, which goes into an impound account, as dictated by certain government loan programs or for mortgages with a high loan-to-value ratio.
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Calculate the amount of homeowner's insurance necessary to adequately protect your home and belongings. Like property taxes, insurance can be paid separately or added to your monthly mortgage payments and kept in an impound account. Again, some government loan programs and high loan-to-value mortgages may require you to include tax and insurance costs in the monthly mortgage payments to ensure the funds will be available when needed.
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Enter your figures into the appropriate areas of the online mortgage calculator of your choice. In addition to the previous calculations, you need to know the term of your loan (15- or 30-year) and the interest rate your lender is giving you.
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Click on the "Calculate" or "Submit" button. You should now have an accurate estimate of your monthly mortgage payments. If you are refinancing an existing loan, you can use the same mortgage calculator to determine your new monthly mortgage payment, and some calculators include an option for adding extra payments to explore the potential for an earlier pay-off date.
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