How to Use the APR Calculator | Know Your Mortgage Loan

Our APR mortgage rate calculator uses a standard calculation mortgage lenders use to incorporate interest rates and fees into one single rate.

An APR calculator can be a quick and easy way to make sense of different mortgage offers. Using one correctly can save you time, and possibly even thousands of dollars. This guide will help you use the APR calculator. And while you're here, if you are interested in comparing mortgage quotes and mortgage lenders, use our free quote request service. You may receive up to four free mortgage quotes - there's absolutely no obligation.



What Is APR?
APR stands for "annual percentage rate." It is one way of measuring the total cost of a loan. It goes beyond the stated interest rate by factoring in one-time expenses like points and closing costs, as well as ongoing charges like mortgage insurance. Basically, the APR shows how those expenses affect the interest rate when spread over the life of the loan.

What Information Do I Need?
One beauty of the APR calculator is that it is one of the simplest mortgage calculators. The following basic pieces of information are needed for the input fields:

  • Loan Amount. This is the total you intend to borrow.
  • Quoted Interest Rate. This is the basic interest rate being offered, before factoring in other costs.
  • Repayment Period. This allows you to choose whether the loan will be repaid over 15, 20, or 30 years. The longer the loan term, the less impact closing costs will have on APR, though the more you will pay in total interest expense. For more detail on the impact of different loan lengths, try a monthly payment calculator or an interest payment calculator.
  • Points. This is a percentage of the loan made as a one-time payment at the beginning.
  • Closing Costs. These include various other expenses involved in originating a loan. A closing cost calculator can help you arrive at this figure.
What Does the Answer Mean?
When you press "compute" you will be given an answer that factors both the interest rate and other expenses into a single APR. Using APR helps you make apples-to-apples comparisons against different mortgage loan offers.

Keep in mind that it only works if you compare identical mortgage loans. You can't use APR to compare a 30-year-fixed mortgage loan to a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage (ARM). Also, just because this mortgage calculator spreads costs over the life of the loan, that doesn't mean the actual costs will be spread out--very few people keep their loans for the entire term. So if two loans have similar APRs, the one with fewer up-front costs is likely to be the better deal.

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Comments

VanDK

2008-04-29 18:50:00

Very helpful tool. Thanks


Luca

2008-01-21 08:12:00

thanks


qaz

2007-10-24 13:22:00

i cant see any calculator here - - - - EDITOR'S COMMENT: If you don't see the calculators, your computer is missing a common program called FLASH. You can download Flash for free at http://www.adobe.com/downloads/. It is produced by the same people who make Adobe Acrobat (PDF files), Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, and other trusted products. You'll find that many web sites have tools, features, animation, and other types of content that require Flash in order to be viewed. Give it a try!


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