The time to purchase your first home is quickly approaching, but you’re not at all sure whether you have enough money for a down payment, or whether you’re going to be able to afford the payments on your dream home. There’s a fairly simple way to find out whether you’re getting close to that dream or if you need to make some adjustments in order to achieve it. It’s call a mortgage calculator and you can find many for your free use at online lending sites.
Many college and high school students own a calculator that will do this same job, and very few realize it. Most college algebra classes require students to have some access to a graphing calculator. Many of these have a mortgage calculator built right in. All it takes is a referral to the calculator book for instructions, and you’ll be ready to go. There are also less expensive calculators that have a mortgage calculator built in. Financial calculators typically cost less than twenty dollars. While it is not necessary to own your own, it does have an advantage. The more informed you are, the better equipped you’ll be to watch out for your own financial best interests. Use your calculator well before you start the process of purchasing a house. Know what the monthly payments will be and whether you can afford them.
So when you are looking into a house loan, be proactive about your finances. Use the tools you have access to. While that bigger house with the built in spa does carry a bigger appeal, it won’t make financial disaster any better when you can’t make the payments. Thankfully this is avoidable with just a little bit of knowledge.
