Get the most from a mortgage calculator

By Derek Dickinson

When it comes to buying a house one of the most significant factors is its value. How much the property itself costs and what the monthly mortgage payment will be is vital knowledge to have before you commit to buy. Using a mortgage calculator UK buyers can work out the all important cost of a chosen property. You could also use the calculator to work out the maximum amount you can borrow then use that as a basis to help narrow down your house search.

The buy to let market has dropped dramatically in many parts of the country so if you are thinking of buying a property to run as a business you need to be sure of the numbers. Buy to let mortgages cost more now than they did in the boom years so use a buy to let mortgage calculator to work out if your purchase is affordable and likely to make you a profit.

Buying a house is probably exciting and terrifying in equal measure, especially if it's your first property. Wherever you are on the property ladder you need to work out the affordability of your new home and consider if you will be able to pay the mortgage if, for example, you had to take a pay cut, reduced hours or even lost your job.

Anyone buying a property needs to use a mortgage calculator to work out how their payments would change if their mortgage rate of interest goes up. It's easy to feel financially confident with the base rate so historically low, but should the base rise then the impact on the cost of mortgages could be considerable and you need to know you can absorb any possible hike in your payments.

When thinking about the affordability of your new home using a mortgage calculator UK buyers can choose between repayment or interest only products and the calculator clearly shows the difference in the monthly payments. While interest only is much cheaper you won't be paying off any of the capital borrowed so you need to think what you will do at the end of the term.

Do however try to muster as big a deposit as you can as mortgage providers offer more competitive products to buyers who borrow a smaller percentage of the property value.

If you can afford to pay more on your mortgage each month you could think about taking out a mortgage product stretching over fewer years. That way you will pay less interest to your lender making it more cost effective while at the same time freeing you from the responsibility of paying a mortgage more quickly. A mortgage calculator will help you work out the different amounts you will pay depending on the length of your product.

Mortgage providers regularly change their products and competitive deals are often only available for a short time. If a new mortgage product catches your eye then work out the numbers on a mortgage calculator.

About the Author:

Learn more about what mortgage repayments you can afford and no longer sit there and wonder how much can I borrow with Emortgage Calculators help.