Free Online Calculators
Here you'll find calculators for home affordability, renting vs. buying, mortgages, and refinancing. Keep in mind that all of these are general calculators to give you ballpark estimates. Talk to your lender &/or your REALTOR® to get much more accurate estimates for what you can afford, if it's better to rent or buy, etc.
Want to know how much of a home that you could afford? Click the link above. Don't like that calculator? Try the Zillow version here or the Trulia version here. To get a preapproval, I recommend going through a local lender when actually proceeding with a loan despite the hard inquiry.
Don't like that calculator? Realtor.com also has one to check here . Keep in mind that you need to input the values for both renting and buying that you're targeting. Keep in mind that the calculator also does not include programs to help reduce home costs, which are especially numerous if you haven't owned a home in the past 3 years but are also often available for those that have. It also doesn't include the option to rent out rooms.
To determine how much of a home you could afford for a given monthly amount, see the "Monthly Payment to Home Value Calculator." See also this comparative. See Bankrate's as well that factors in lifestyle preferences.
Want to have a breakdown of your monthly payment based on the home amount that you're looking for? Click the title above.
Don't like that calculator? Try the Zillow version here or the Trulia version here. Some of the information is autopopulated with some sites, like the down payment, so be sure to put in whatever downpayment you'd be putting forward & other info rather than just quickly filling in the empty slots. What you would pay with a 20% downpayment is very different than with 5%.
The Google version here is the only one to offer how much of a home you could afford for a given monthly payment. Easily switch from "monthly cost" to "maximum loan", based on whichever number you're trying to determine.
Rental Property Cash
Flow Calculator
Looking to buy a home and rent it out later to others? Check the numbers by clicking the link above before you make an offer.
Looking to refinance? Check the numbers by clicking the link above.
Generally the lower the purchase price, the higher the closing cost as a percentage of a purchase. Also, closing costs are reduced when you are purchasing a home in cash. They are increased when doing a renovation loan. Often sellers will pay closing cost in a buyer's market like we have had for years. With conventional loans, the maximum seller concessions are 3%, while that bumps up to 6% with FHA loans. VA loans are the most flexible of the 3 but more complex, with up to 4% of the purchase price being able to be applied to consumer debt (like credit card debt, which is not possible for even .1% with FHA & conventional), with certain closing costs being unlimited.
The closing cost calculator link also has some additional calculators.
The above values are all rough estimates, that can vary depending on the site that you're using even with the same information. In order to get a more accurate estimate, I suggest consulting a lender, such as Kim Hunt or Jim Baldasare with Atlantic Bay Mortgage, or Greg Edwards with Fidelity Mortgage. Both have offices in Greg Garrett Realty's corporate office in Newport News.