Using a mortgage calculator

Does using a mortgage calculator sound intimidating to you?  Well, it's not.  And it's a GREAT tool for you when you are just starting to think about buying a house.  So let's say you have the "bug to buy" and you start shopping online.  You get googly-eyes over a house with oil rubbed bronze everything, custom cabinets, granite, a sauna, you name it.  Can you afford this dream home?  Obviously you will need to talk to a lender and get preapproved, but in the looking stage, you need to know if you could afford this house every month or not.  And that's where the mortgage calculator comes in.  My personal favorite calculator App to use is Zillow's, and it looks like this:

It's about as easy to use as it looks.  But the feature that makes it better than most is that it figures in everything - not just your principal and interest.  It asks you how much your putting down on the house, what the current interest rate is and what your taxes and homeowners insurance will be.  Don't know the taxes and insurance?  It will put in an estimated rate.  It will even figure in homeowner's association dues if your dream neighborhood has an HOA.  You will love how easy this App is - and it is very accurate.  I've tested it at the closing table when all the numbers are in front of me and it gives you a very realistic picture.  So when your daydreaming and you want to turn your dream into a reality - start with this App.  http://www.zillow.com/mortgage-calculator/