Know Your Mortgage Options

Strategic Mortgage Planning

Mortgage Interest, Mortgage Payments, and Mortgage Rates

At PDX Home Loan, we believe the preliminary strategic planning portion of the mortgage financing decision is typically an afterthought for borrowers. Clients are far too focused on the “best credit score for mortgage rates” and other assumed mortgage bellwethers without looking at the entire home loan picture.

Tips to Ensure Accurate Calculations

Simple Calculation For a simple calculation, such as the 20 percent down purchase, put in the Purchase Price, and then enter “20” into the Mortgage Down Payment slot. The Mortgage Calculator will then automatically calculate your correct loan amount.

Property Taxes

If you are unsure of the exact numbers, you should default to 1.2 percent of the Purchase Price. For example, if you are looking at a $200,000 purchase, you can estimate the taxes to be $2,400 per year. Plug this number into the mortgage calculator.

Property Insurance

$500 per year is a fairly safe placeholder. Increase it to $700 for purchases above $400,000.

Mortgage Insurance/FHA Mortgage Insurance

Mortgage insurance is not available for down payments of 20 percent and above. However, if you are putting less than 20 percent down, you will need to plan on paying for mortgage insurance. Mortgage insurance factors for different down payments:

5 percent down = .59 PMI per year
10 percent down = .3 PMI per year
15 percent down = .24 PMI per year

Federal Housing Administration

If you are getting an FHA loan, you will use a down payment of 3.5 percent, and in the MI section, you will add .85 for the annual factor.

Mortgage Interest Rates Change

Lock in a Low Mortgage Rate Today

After several years of relative calm, with more-or-less steady global financial markets, we are now witnessing a bit of volatility is US financial markets. Is this the end of the calm before another financial fervor, or a mere fluctuation? Before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s take a look at the data (both historically and scientifically).

Mortgage Rate Averages

What's the Average Mortgage Down Payment? That Depends...

Now, all of this data brings us to the vital question we field multiple times a day: “How much will my home loan down payment be?” That is a very important question. While some buyers are only capable of making the minimum mortgage down payment, others may have a little more financial leeway. At PDX Home Loan, we need to understand the value of both the money you are investing as well as the money you are not putting into the real estate over time. This allows us to measure these long-term investments and also the tax adjusted cost of borrowing.

So what’s the latest on how down payments are calculated?

A Better Mortgage Cost Calculator

How to Calculate Mortgage Costs

It seems like every other mortgage broker on the web is boasting about the latest and greatest newfangled digital mortgage calculator. However, simply implementing a rudimentary adjustable abacus certainly isn’t the same as devising an accurate, well-calibrated device.

our-perfect-mortgage-promise-section

Here's how we'll work together

1
Setup a Strategy Call

We’ll discuss your unique goals and give you clarity around the best next steps.

2
Review Your Options

We conduct a Total Cost Analysis to determine your optimal mortgage strategy. 

3
Maximize Your Wealth

Relax knowing the right team is executing the right plan on your behalf. ​

our-perfect-mortgage-promise-section