https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 22 Jul 2026 14:09:00 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2431240 Thu, 21 Jan 2016 14:49:03 +0000 Eko 2431240@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@fussygal: The way it was explained to me is that people use to opt for the pmi since interest rates were higher, so opting for the higher interest rate usually resulted in more money than what the pmi is. But, since interest rates are so low now people will try to go the no pmi route. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2431142 Thu, 21 Jan 2016 14:10:34 +0000 gingerbebe 2431142@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@fussygal: We are CU members at 4 different CUs and while we used one for our pre-approval letter (since its fast), we ultimately used Lending Tree for the actual loan. It had banks bid for our business and it was crazy! In the end it was between the Bank of Kansas and Discover Loans and they kept trying to outdo each other! Our bank gave us like $1000 of closing credit and we got so far into the house transaction that we ended up going with them even though the other bank came back and said they would give us $250 more! My husband dealt with the lenders, so I can't personally say what it was like to have lenders call you night and day, but DH was generally pleased we got a very good rate and terms in the end. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2431087 Thu, 21 Jan 2016 13:53:26 +0000 fussygal 2431087@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@hellobeeboston: Thank you! :)</p> <p>@Eko: @birdofafeather: Interesting about the no PMI/higher interest rate...I need to look into that. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2430453 Thu, 21 Jan 2016 09:25:07 +0000 Eko 2430453@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@birdofafeather: I completely thought the no pmi and low down payment depended on various programs you had to qualify for, which I thought I wouldn't. If we needed to come up with 20% we wouldn't be able to get a house this year. So, now we get to get into a house this year and still have a reasonable mortgage. </p> <p>But I still echo what other people said and suggest that anyone talks to an actual loan broker (not through a bank) for information on getting a house. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2430302 Thu, 21 Jan 2016 06:08:11 +0000 hellobeeboston 2430302@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@fussygal: I wouldn't trust the online calculators. I would go through a mortgage company and get some pre-approval rates. They will factor in all of your debts and income and give a better idea of what you can afford. It's probably lower than you think. That's what I found at least once you factor in taxes, closing costs etc etc</p> <p>Btw - congrats! It's so exciting to buy your first home!!! And now is the time before interest rates start creeping up which they definitely are. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2430280 Thu, 21 Jan 2016 00:55:07 +0000 birdofafeather 2430280@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@fussygal: we're still in the midst of it. Because I'm self employed and DH just started a new job this year, our income history isn't there although the current income is, so we're filing our tax return ASAP to maximize earnings and nail down our preapproval. My brother is having the same experience as we are though and he's a regular employee with a long work history and very high earnings so I'm not sure that it's just because of our work situation! My dad was asking me why they can't just tell me what we qualify for based on earnings and I'm like, if I knew that, I'd be an excellent loan officer! Maybe it's timing and market?</p> <p>ETA: my brother and I have both been getting the run around from two different CUs where we've both been members for years. It seems to me like their options are limited where as when I've been going through a loan office that shops around places, there are many more options for us! Like if we wanted to do less than 20% down at the CU, we only had the option of a 15 year or an ARM. Versus with the independent guy, he has lots of different options, including the buyout of PMI mentioned above. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2430265 Wed, 20 Jan 2016 23:38:35 +0000 fussygal 2430265@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@birdofafeather: Exciting! I hope things keep going well for you guys in the process. Interesting that some people are having that backwards experience - do you know what the lenders process was after you gave them the info? Did they just run the numbers to make sure everything was good and/or come back to you saying that you could go higher?</p> <p>@MediaNaranja: Thanks and congrats - that is exciting! I've been looking at a local credit union that we have a car loan from which I think qualifies us as a member? Seems like a lot of them are starting to loosen the requirements a bit so I hope we can explore that option. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2430238 Wed, 20 Jan 2016 22:31:08 +0000 birdofafeather 2430238@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Eko: my loan officer was also telling me about the less than 20% down, no PMI, slightly higher rate options too. I was pleasantly surprised about that and am now leaning heavily toward that option to have more cash on hand for renovations! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2430214 Wed, 20 Jan 2016 22:00:25 +0000 Eko 2430214@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are hoping to buy a house this year. But, we recently talked with a mortgage broker about loan options, interest rates, house pricing, etc. and really the way it worked is how much a month we were willing to spend in a mortgage, which includes taxes, insurance, etc. Then figure out about what our interest rate would be and determine the house cost from there. We discussed my student loans as well and given our income and what we are comfortable spending doesn't seem to be a factor. I would recommend talking with a loan person. Even with the calculators I was surprised we could actually get more house for what we want to spend. Plus there are other factors I didn't know about such as opting out of pmi for a slightly higher interest rate will save us money. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2430198 Wed, 20 Jan 2016 21:43:45 +0000 sapphire 2430198@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We told our lender how much we wanted to spend and then he approved us for something like 50k more than that "just in case." But when I did a couple of initial applications with other lenders we did not use, we were approved for a ridiculous sum of money (like twice what we planned on). Getting the loan usually is t the problem. Figuring out what you truly can afford and want to spend is the bigger issue. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2429703 Wed, 20 Jan 2016 15:11:01 +0000 MediaNaranja 2429703@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Congratulations!! Buying a house is so exciting!</p> <p>All of this is fresh in my mind because we just closed on our house last week. Before we started shopping, I had a firm number in mind as to what we were able to pay monthly, excluding utilities. That's the number I took to the bank/realtor, and what we ultimately were approved for. I have no idea if we would have been approved for more if we didn't give a number. We got our mortgage through a local credit union, which I would highly recommend. Our loan officer was able to really work the numbers and find the best kind of mortgage for us, and was also really knowledgeable about state programs for 1st time homebuyers.</p> <p>For what it's worth, the online mortgage calculators seemed to underestimate what we could afford (and ultimately purchased). We're not house poor by any means, so I think the calculators can sometimes err on the conservative side.</p> <p>Re: student loans....this was the biggest hurdle for us. At first my loan officer told me that they calculated the payment as 1% of the loan balance, which is WAY more than I actually pay a month (I'm on an income-based repayment plan). As you noted above, it really f-ed up the DTI. However, she was able to find a loan program that used my *actual* payment amount...once that happened, it was smooth sailing. So again, I highly recommend using a local credit union!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2429679 Wed, 20 Jan 2016 14:57:37 +0000 birdofafeather 2429679@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>we're in the process of getting preapproved right now and we've found that it's been pretty backwards to what we thought. we thought we'd give them all our info and then they would tell us what we'd be approved for. instead, we've had to tell them the price range we wanted (which is fine because we know how much we want to spend, but annoying for my brother who is also going through it and can afford a range of things!) and our downpayment (which is variable because we're getting a gift that's TBD), it's been a LONG process. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2429655 Wed, 20 Jan 2016 14:46:24 +0000 LuLu Mom 2429655@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@fussygal: Just keep in mind you need to factor in house insurances and taxes as well so your "mortgage" payment will be higher than just the house. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2429612 Wed, 20 Jan 2016 14:27:36 +0000 gingerbebe 2429612@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We based our home price range on a monthly payment that we could comfortably afford on DH's salary alone (mortgage + insurance + tax + house related expenses) and based our budget on that. We were approved for a lot more than that and would have been approved for WAY more if we had included my income in the applications, but either of those numbers would have been insane for us. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2429596 Wed, 20 Jan 2016 14:16:43 +0000 yoursilverlining 2429596@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We didn’t really use any of those calculators, and we definitely didn’t care how much the mortgage lender approved us for since the only debt they took into consideration was debt reported to the credit bureaus, which didn’t include expenses of nearly $2k a month in our family. </p> <p>We knew how much we had to spend each month for taxes + mortgage + insurance. Found a home within that price range. Was approved for tons more than what we could in reality afford. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2429569 Wed, 20 Jan 2016 14:02:44 +0000 HLK208 2429569@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It was around with what the loan officer said we were approved for. The online calculator gave us a range and we weren't comfortable paying more than the median amount (because the mortgage payment would've been too high). We entered in the exact amount of expense we have per month, debt and our salary. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2429512 Wed, 20 Jan 2016 13:36:49 +0000 Alba4 2429512@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Don't forget to include your property/school taxes. In the NE they are super high and add a lot to your monthly payment. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2429510 Wed, 20 Jan 2016 13:35:27 +0000 matador84 2429510@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Some mortgage calculators don't include pMI. I know the one on Zillow does so I like to use that one because it also includes a place to put in taxes and insurance which is typically rolled into your mortgage payment. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2429506 Wed, 20 Jan 2016 13:33:36 +0000 BandDmommy 2429506@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We actually never used the calculators, we determined how much we were comfortable with and requested that amount. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2429498 Wed, 20 Jan 2016 13:29:59 +0000 PurplePeony 2429498@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We did it sort of backwards, in that we decided on a number we were comfortable with for our monthly payment and used that to determine what price range of houses we should be looking at. So for us, the calculators were quite accurate because we weren't looking to find the highest amount we could technically afford and get pre-approval for. The bank never actually told us what the highest amount they'd lend us was -- we told them right upfront what we needed and she was like, "oh, is that all? Are you sure?" and we said yes and that was basically the end of that conversation. So I'm not sure if the calculators would be accurate if we were looking to max out. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2429497 Wed, 20 Jan 2016 13:29:24 +0000 Raindrop 2429497@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yeah I agree with others. The calculators will give you the max you can afford and I don't think you want that so it's okay if you get approved for less. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2429496 Wed, 20 Jan 2016 13:28:41 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2429496@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@fussygal: The biggest hang up for us on those is if we factor in daycare as a "debt" (because really its a payment that isn't going away any time soon and takes away our cash) the calculators gave us a much more clear indictor on what would be more comfortable for us. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2429493 Wed, 20 Jan 2016 13:27:20 +0000 fussygal 2429493@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Wow, you're all so responsible! :) </p> <p>ETA: We're in a situation where we're worried we won't be approved for as much as we're hoping (student loans - blah!), so while I'm trying to remain positive about it I also don't want to get my hopes up!</p> <p>@T.H.O.U.: Not the mortgage payment ones, but the 'how much house can I afford' ones that calculate your DTI. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2429486 Wed, 20 Jan 2016 13:23:54 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2429486@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The mortgage calculators in terms of what your payment would be? They are accurate because its a math calculation. What they dont always work for is your actual interest rate (they seem to be much lower than what the going rate actually is that you can lock in). They also dont take into account other monthly fees like property taxes, property insurance, PMI payments etc. I think we pay about $300 more per month than what the actual base mortgage is. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2429479 Wed, 20 Jan 2016 13:18:11 +0000 Mrs.KMM 2429479@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I never looked at them because we knew that there was no way we would be spending anywhere close to what we could actually be preapproved for. We purposefully asked to only be preapproved for a little more than we were planning on spending. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2429477 Wed, 20 Jan 2016 13:17:49 +0000 runnerd 2429477@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yea to echo others, the mortgage amounts calculator gives, and what bank will approve for us were both much more than we would have comfortable paying! The bank would have approved us for $100k more than the max amount we were willing to take on as mortgage - guess they don't care how much of our "disposable income" is a fixed daycare expense! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2429473 Wed, 20 Jan 2016 13:16:33 +0000 tinyperson 2429473@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Ditto what previous posters have said...we wouldn't want to spend close to the amount we could have been approved for! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2429470 Wed, 20 Jan 2016 13:15:27 +0000 ms.line 2429470@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I guess we could have been approved for what the calculator said, but there is NO WAY I wanted to give up that much of my income for housing. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2429464 Wed, 20 Jan 2016 13:13:39 +0000 avivoca 2429464@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>They were close to what we could have been approved for, but we knew that we didn't want to buy that much house. We asked them to write the pre-approval for $60k less than what we could have been approved for. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/online-mortgage-affordability-calculators-accurate#post-2429459 Wed, 20 Jan 2016 13:12:20 +0000 fussygal 2429459@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>When house shopping did you use any online affordability/mortgage calculators, and were their estimates close to what you were actually approved for? A few people I know have had pretty different loan amounts pre-approved than what the calculators said. I'm aware that they're just estimates, but I'm curious to hear how accurate they are/were for you! We're getting our ducks in a row to buy this fall - eek!</p> <p>ETA: I'm asking more about calculators that determine how much house you can afford and factor in debt-to-income ratio, etc. </p>