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Figure Out Your Best Mortgage

Calculator Eight in 10 Americans choose a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. Should you?

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[{"id":"1","mort_type":"30_fixed","pretty_name":"30-Year Fixed","interest_rate":"0.0435","length":"30"},{"id":"2","mort_type":"20_fixed","pretty_name":"20-Year Fixed","interest_rate":"0.0413","length":"20"},{"id":"3","mort_type":"15_fixed","pretty_name":"15-Year Fixed","interest_rate":"0.0393","length":"15"},{"id":"4","mort_type":"10_fixed","pretty_name":"10-Year Fixed","interest_rate":"0.038","length":"10"},{"id":"5","mort_type":"71_arm","pretty_name":"7-1 Adjustable","interest_rate":"0.0375","length":"30"},{"id":"6","mort_type":"71_arm_adjusted","pretty_name":"After 7 years","interest_rate":"0.0525","length":"30"},{"id":"7","mort_type":"51_arm","pretty_name":"5-1 Adjustable","interest_rate":"0.0325","length":"30"},{"id":"8","mort_type":"51_arm_adjusted","pretty_name":"After 5 years","interest_rate":"0.0475","length":"30"}]

Start here: How much your home is worth?

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Advanced Options

Our Estimates Assume That You …

  • … mortgage interest from your tax return
  • … are in a marginal tax bracket of
  • … pay $ in closing costs

Mortgage Prices & Options

Mortgage TypeInterest RatePayments / Mo.After Tax
Principle and interest payment not including taxes or insurance. Focus on the after-tax cost of your mortgage if you deduct mortgage interest on your tax return. See Explanations.
 After 10 Yrs, What You Own & Owe In Today's Dollars
We assume 1. House prices rise with inflation — so the value of your house in today's dollars remain unchanged; and 2. That inflation, in addition to paying down the mortgage over time, reduces the value of the remaining mortgage in today's dollars.

An Automatic Savings Plan

A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage will save you about $xx each month — $xx after taxes — for seven years. After the first seven years, your payments depend on current interest rates.

Bottom line: If you know you’ll move or refinance within seven years, this could be your best bet. If not, a fixed-rate mortgage is far safer.

An Automatic Savings Plan

A 20-year fixed rate mortgage will save you about $xx less each month — $xx after taxes. But after 20 years, your mortgage remaining would be about less in today's dollars.

An Automatic Savings Plan

A 15-year fixed rate mortgage will cost about $xx less each month — $xx after taxes. But after 15 years, your mortgage remaining would be about less in today's dollars.

An Automatic Savings Plan

A 10-year fixed rate mortgage will save you about $xx less each month — $xx after taxes. But after 10 years, your mortgage remaining would be about less in today's dollars.

Pay Less Today, Risky if Held Too Long

A 7-1 adjustable rate mortgage will cost about $xx less each month — $xx after taxes — for seven years. After the first seven years, your payments depend on current interest rates. Based on reasonable projections, your monthly payments will be about $xx less — $55 after taxes — than the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. But they could be dramatically higher if interest rates jump.

Bottom line: If you know you’ll move or refinance within seven years, this could be your best bet. If not, a fixed-rate mortgage is far safer.

Pay Less Today, Risky if Held Too Long

A 5-1 adjustable rate mortgage will save you about $xx less each month — $xx after taxes — for five years. After the first five years, your payments depend on current interest rates. So, based on reasonable projections, your monthly payments will be about $xx less — $55 after taxes — than the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. But they could be dramatically higher if interest rates jump.

Bottom line: If you know you’ll move or refinance within five years, this could be your best bet. If not, a fixed-rate mortgage is far safer.

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Click to learn more about the assumptions and equations used on this page
Explanations

Mortgage interest is tax deductible, and the after-tax payment shown is your initial after-tax payment, based on the tax rate in Advanced. The interest you pay and your tax deduction decline as you pay down the loan, so your after-tax payment in dollars will rise. But due to inflation, your after-tax expense in today's dollars will generally decline.

Note that it becomes increasingly difficult to get a mortgage as the payment before taxes, plus real estate taxes, insurance, and your other debt payments approaches 45% of your household income.