What Goes Into a Mortgage Payment?
A Mortgage is a home loan that covers most of the purchase price of a property, allowing homebuyers to afford a house they might not otherwise be able to afford. A mortgage typically has two parts: principal and interest. The home loan is financed by making monthly payments to cover the amount borrowed, and the borrower gradually builds equity in the property over time through those payments. There are many different types of mortgages available, including conventional, conforming, nonconforming, FHA-insured, VA-insured and USDA-insured.
Getting a mortgage is a major financial undertaking, and it’s important to understand what goes into the payment that you’ll make each month for years (or even decades) to come. The best way to get a clear idea of what your monthly payment will be is to use our mortgage calculator. Our tool helps you find out what kind of a mortgage you can afford and how your interest rate affects your payments.
The most common type of mortgage is a fixed-rate loan, where the interest rate stays the same for the life of the mortgage. Other types of mortgages are variable-rate loans where the interest rates change over the course of the loan.
When you pay your monthly mortgage payment, the balance of what you owe on the loan is paid back in equal parts each month between paying off the interest and reducing the principal balance. Each monthly payment is usually weighted slightly more toward interest than it is towards the principal, but the portion that pays off the principal decreases over the length of the loan term.
There are also a few other charges that may be included in your mortgage payment each month, including real estate taxes and homeowners insurance. These are collected in an escrow account by the lender and are paid on behalf of the homeowner when due. The property taxes are an annual tax assessed on the value of the home and land, while the homeowners insurance is to protect against damage or loss from fire, theft and other hazards.
There are also a variety of fees associated with mortgages, such as application and appraisal fees, loan origination fees, credit report fees, closing costs and private mortgage insurance (PMI). While these can be paid upfront or wrapped into the cost of the mortgage, they’re still something that homebuyers should take into account when calculating their budget.