Mortgage Lowdown

The American dream means different things to different people, but most can agree that it’s at the very least a free, safe and comfortable life. The ability to attain this dream has been fueled by the freedoms and industry of our country. Here’s how it all came to be.

Great Beginnings: A New Nation

After the American Revolution, American citizens were free to explore, invest and make their dreams come true. The American dream was very rich in this period of discovery, as many of America’s resources were unclaimed. These resources held the promise of land ownership and investment in land or industry. The country gave many an impoverished immigrant the opportunity to work themselves out of poverty to reach great heights.

Engines of Change: The American Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution proved to be one of the biggest influences on the development of the American dream. As big businesses took root and expanded, new innovations and improved modes of production combined to greatly improve the American standard of living. During this period, there were many rags to riches stories that led to the belief that if you have talent and work hard, you have a good chance of living a successful life.

Civil War and Reconstruction

In 1865, as slavery was outlawed, more Americans had a chance at achieving the American dream. This period also saw the nation unified after a bloody Civil War that lasted four years. Following the Civil War, many Americans experienced difficulties in the changing economic landscape as the country rapidly moved towards industrialization. Many believed that the only way to achieve their shared American dream was through hard work.

World War I: Progressive Era

As the war raged across the world, there were equally momentous occurrences in the country as well. The economical and industrial boom during this period reshaped both urban and suburban life. The industrial revolution that had begun towards the end of the 19th century was sped up thanks to the war. Essentially, the war made the American dream a tangible reality for increasing numbers of Americans. It was the beginning of America’s backbone of economy and technological growth.

The Great Depression: Tough Times

The Great Depression was the longest and most severe economic downturn in American history. During this period, unemployment skyrocketed and reached levels as high as one third of the population. Crop prices crashed by half and hunger became a reality as food production became unprofitable. Severe unemployment was the order of the day with thousands and thousands of migrant farmers were now forced to travel the nation looking for jobs. Homelessness, poverty and a sense of hopelessness spread through much of the nation, making the American dream distant. 

World War II: Renewed Hope

For three decades following World War II, most people in the U.S. were on a positive high. The American dream was easily achievable, with some Americans going from rags to riches. During this period, all Americans could look forward to a steadily increasing standard of living and a better future for themselves and their children. Wages rose substantially, ensuring that most families could afford more. Education and a better standard of living became achievable dreams for millions. Perhaps most importantly, workers could retire and enjoy their life after decades of hard work.

The Modern Era

Currently, America is facing a crisis of economic disparity. Americans are achieving the dream bigger than ever before, as evidenced by people like Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey, but there is an equal and opposite effect for America’s poor. As the rich get richer, many of the poor get poorer and America’s middle class has begun to erode. During the past three decades, most Americans have seen their living standards grow worse. Wages have stagnated or fallen, people who believed that their livelihoods were secure have received a pink slip and those who haven’t lost a job often find themselves working longer and harder than ever before.

The middle class dream of a home is also being eroded as the prices of homes and interest rates keep rising. It is possible for Americans to reclaim their dream, but perhaps the only way to do it is to relearn the importance of hard work and self-reliance: ethics that once embodied the American Dream.

Mortgages, refinancing and home equity loans are major financial transactions that are both confusing and important at the same time. There are a multitude of factors to consider: should you get a fixed rate or adjustable rate mortgage? Should it last 15, 30 or 40 years? How much money could you save on a refinance? And what about amortization? Use our 20 favorite home owner calculators to answer all of these questions and more.

1. Mortgage-calc.com: This site provides mortgage and home equity rates for primary and second loan refinancing. The online rate calculators on this site will help you evaluate interest rate options on all loans. You can even compare mortgage rates or home equity loan rates on this site. In addition to a simple mortgage calculator, the site also provides a ‘Rent vs. Buy’ calculator so you can choose the right option for you. While here, you can check your debt levels and how much time it will take you to pay it off with their debt calculators.

2. Bankrate.com: Bankrate.com not only provides immensely readable and useful financial articles, but it also has a few calculators which can be immensely valuable to home owners. You can use the fixed vs. adjustable rate mortgage calculator to calculate which will benefit you in the short and long-term. Their refinancing tool helps you determine if it makes sense to refinance your mortgage.

3. Online Loan Calculator: There are almost twenty financial calculations available on this site. Their loan calculator is a free tool which, when used appropriately, can help you get a better idea of where you stand financially. For instance, if you are considering a second home mortgage loan, the calculators on this site will help you decide if it is a wise decision. Once you have run all the numbers on the calculator, and are ready for the next step, the site provides a list of reputable loan brokers to help you find the right company that meets your needs.

4. Mortgagemath.com: Mortgagemath.com offers a collection of online mortgage calculators. You can access their home mortgage calculators that compare mortgage loans. The online calculators also evaluate amortization and loan payments for all types of mortgages including interest only mortgages, ARMs or 30-year fixed. These calculators help you compare the mortgage interest you’d be paying over the life of the loan. The site tries to combine fun with the tedious task of computing and comparing mortgage rates. Whether it is a decision to buy a home or refinance your existing one, these calculators help you make wise financial decisions and get the most out of your home.

5. Calculators4Mortgages.com: This aesthetically pleasing site offers calculators for amortization, loan comparison, refinance and early payoff. The site’s calculators help you find out what kind of mortgage works best for you: fixed rate or an adjustable rate mortgage. You can determine the amount of mortgage you can afford with the pre-qualify calculator and then move on to determine your new monthly mortgage payments. The refinance mortgage calculator helps you calculate payments on debt consolidation mortgage loan and see your monthly savings. These calculators make it easy to work out how much you can afford to borrow and exactly what your repayments will be using time scales and interest rates. Their amortization schedule allows you to find a payment plan that enables you to reduce your debt gradually through monthly payments of principal. Their mortgage calculators help you find out how much house you can afford and how much extra you’ll need to pay in your monthly mortgage payment to pay off the loan in the number of years you select.

6. Financial Calculators: At Homefair, you’ll find calculators to determine the cost of a mortgage. Whether you are relocating or looking for a home loan, Homefair has the tools and resources to help you every step of the way. In addition to helping you calculate your rates, the site also provides information on how the APR on your loan is calculated and the things you need to consider when looking for a house.

7. Karl’s Mortgage Calculator: This site helps you calculate mortgage repayments through graphical sliders and charts. You’ll need to have Java installed to chart your payments on this calculator. The prepayment section helps you estimate how you can shorten the term of your mortgage by making either a single one-off payment or continuous extra monthly or annual payments. There is a section devoted to calculating Adjustable Rate Mortgage loan rates. All you need to do is enter a start month to activate and click on the interest rate graph to view how this section alters the interest rates over the term of the mortgage.

8. Mortgage Loan Calculators: The site offers calculators for amortization payments, interest rates and financial calculations. The Mortgage Loan Calculator helps you generate an amortization schedule for your current mortgage. It shows you how much interest you will pay as well as your principal balance. You can even determine the impact of any principal prepayments! Press the report button for a full amortization schedule, either by year or by month. The Mortgage Qualifier calculator takes you through the process of finding out how much you can borrow, while the Mortgage Refinance Break Even aids you in finding out how long it will take to break even on a mortgage refinance.

9. Free Mortgage Analyzer: This mortgage amortization schedule calculator displays an amortization schedule, loan chart, graphs, and a mortgage payment table. It also calculates both total as well as real interest paid. The calculators provide an instant graphical display on loan amounts from one thousand to five hundred million dollars. You can make use of amortization charts and graphs for both US and Canadian mortgages. Options for monthly or bi-weekly payments are available with their innovative, java-enhanced calculator.

10. Mortgage Resources: Financial Calculators: Mortgage Resources provides you with calculators for every issue concerning real estate finance. The qualification calculator helps you approximate your qualification for a new home while the mortgage calculator provides you with an amortization schedule for a proposed transaction. The calculator even allows you to figure in regular prepayments. If you just want to calculate the payment on a mortgage loan, simply enter the amount, interest rate and loan duration into the Simple Loan Payment Calculator. If you have or are considering a 3, 5, 7 or 10-year balloon mortgage; the Convertible Balloon Mortgage calculator helps you understand the advantages and risks inherent in these programs.

11. Erate: Erate offers a multitude of mortgage calculators for both home buyers and home owners. The site bases its calculations on the sound reasoning that there are many ways to approach an affordability analysis. Hence, their mortgage calculators allow you to assess the effects of the different variables when buying or refinancing a home. The monthly mortgage payment calculator is one of the most useful and straightforward mortgage calculators available. It allows you to explore the outcome of changes to your loan balance, mortgage term, and interest rate on your monthly mortgage principal and interest payments. The refinance mortgage calculator allows you to explore the pros and cons of refinancing your mortgage while the qualifier calculator shows you how much income you need to buy a home, based on your mortgage payment and other factors.

12. (Re)Finance Center: This site provides a variety of mortgage and financial calculators as well as financial advice. The Calculators & Advice section helps you work out the financial implications of the important decisions in your life like buying a home or a car, refinancing your existing mortgage, and paying off your debt. In addition to calculators, the site has many useful articles and service providers all in one place. This makes it easy for you to learn everything you need to know about loans.

13. Distinctive Home Lending: Distinctive Home Lending provides several online mortgage calculators. The monthly payment calculator calculates your payment for different loan amounts, interest rates, and amortization terms while the payment schedule calculator computes the breakdown of principal and interest payments in a yearly or monthly format. In addition to these basic calculators, you can also check the Extra Payment calculator that, as the name suggests, helps you find out how much you can save over the term of your loan by increasing your monthly payment. You can also calculate your maximum mortgage amount based upon the monthly payment, interest rate, and term that you enter.

14. Coastal Financial Company: The site provides a variety of mortgage and financial calculators. The financial calculator on this site requires a browser with Java(TM) applet Support. The mortgage qualifier calculator takes you through the process of finding out how much you can borrow. All you need to do is fill in the entry fields and click on the ‘View Report’ button to see a complete amortization schedule of your mortgage payments. The simple mortgage calculator on this site is a no-frills application and helps you calculate your rates without any fuss. Other calculators include the Refinance Break-Even Point Calculator, and Early Payoff Calculator among others.

15. MyCalculators.com: Tired of online calculators that don’t seem to give you the right answers? Here’s one site that was created to correct this problem. The calculators were created with two basic intentions: to make them as accurate as possible and ensure that they are fast and easy to use. In addition to mortgage loan calculators, you’ll find calculators that compute your debt quotient, auto loans and many other loans. Examples that accompany each calculator guide you and show you some of the things you can do with them. If you have a Canadian mortgage, you can check the "Canadian" box under the Interest Rate field. The calculators take into account the fact that Canadian mortgages compound interest twice annually instead of monthly. Due to rounding, the calculations may differ by a few cents from those of your lending institution.

16. LoanLinks.com: This site helps you find the best loan in seconds in addition to providing you with online financial calculators to help compute your loan amounts. These easy to use calculators help you solve some common financial problems. For instance, the mortgage calculators help you decide if you should refinance your home mortgage as well as calculate payments for a fixed rate and adjustable rate loans. Other calculators help you find how much house you can qualify for and how much you can actually afford.

17. Vipps.com: The mortgage payment calculator at Vipps.com allows you to do mortgage payment and closing costs calculations. The calculator includes an analysis of mortgage refinancing. It includes an analysis of paying points to receive a lower interest rate. The calculator is formatted and runs in Microsoft Excel and provides you with information on your mortgage payment, closing costs, amortization, affordability, a what-if analysis, a refinance analysis, and paying points to receive a lower interest rate analysis. The site also includes a worksheet containing links to 25 real estate websites. However, this calculator doesn’t come free: you’ll have to shell out $15 if you want this detailed calculator.

18. Sksi.com: This site acts as a one-stop shop for everyone – it provides mortgage and loan calculators for realtors, lenders, brokers and consumers. In addition to free calculators that help you make an informed decision, the site also claims to provide information on the rules that mortgage companies use. In addition to the simple loan calculator, you can also check out the prepayment calculator, amortization table maker, qualifying calculator and payment calculator.

19. Dave.imarc.net: The PHP Mortgage Calculator can be used to calculate monthly payments of a home mortgage loan. The calculator takes into consideration Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI), taxes, and shows amortization of principal and interest. Property taxes and automatic calculation of PMI for loans where down payment is less than 20% are also factored into the monthly mortgage payment.

20. TimeValue Software: This one is not exactly for home owners but rather for real estate professionals. The easy-to-use Tcalc Financial Calculators from TimeValue Software (TVS) provides a list of mortgage, investment, lease, personal finance, and retirement planning calculators. The easy to use question and answer format, helpful charts and online graphing calculators assist you in your analysis.