Adding it all up
Online Calculators

These free calculators are handy tools when you want to help a client understand the benefits of homeownership.

REVIEWED BY KELLY QUIGLEY

Online Calculator Roundup:

• Bankrate.com
• MicrosoftOffice.com
• Fannie Mae
• Home Loan Learning Center
  
  Sometimes it’s best to let numbers do the talking. An easy-to-use calculator comes in handy when you want to help buyers understand how much home they can afford, or if you’d like to compare the monthly payments of an adjustable-rate mortgage to a fixed-rate mortgage. Here, we’ll bring you to four free calculator Web sites that make it easy to crunch numbers for real estate-related situations. Use these tools to prepare presentations, to walk potential buyers through their options, or when you want to direct clients to a reliable online source where they can do their own research.
  
• Bankrate.com. This Web site, a source for rate information and consumer finance issues, has a wide collection of financial calculators for real estate. On its Mortgage page, you can help homebuyers answer the critical question: How Much House Can You Afford? If you’re working with prospects who aren’t convinced they could cover the costs of homeownership, refer them to the Buy or Rent Your Next Home calculator so they can make a financially-sound decision. On this site, you also can access an Amortization Schedule Calculator, a Cost of Living Comparison Calculator, and many more.
  
• MicrosoftOffice.com. These calculator templates won’t do all the work for you, but they’ll certainly make your job a lot easier when you’re dealing with more complicated situations, like determining closing costs or a remodeling budget. To download these templates, all you need is Microsoft Excel, version 2000 or later. The main benefit of using one of these calculators is that you can compute the costs with your client and make copies for the record books. By searching the term “calculator” on the home page, you’ll find more than 60 calculators, including a Gain on Home Sale Calculator, a Closing Costs Calculator, a Kitchen Remodel Cost Calculator, and an ARM vs. Fixed Mortgage Comparison.
  
• Fannie Mae. Six calculators evaluate the various components that factor into buying a home and getting a mortgage. Help clients understand how their desired monthly payment will affect the price of the house they can afford with the How Much Can You Afford With a Specific Monthly Payment? calculator. Or, provide a benefit to past clients by passing along a calculator that will help them answer the all-important question: Is Now a Good Time to Refinance?
  
• Home Loan Learning Center. Run by the Mortgage Bankers Association, this Web site’s five financial calculators are especially helpful for first-time homebuyers. The How Much Will My Monthly Mortgage Payment Be? calculator computes a mortgage's monthly payment amount based on the principal amount borrowed, the length of the loan, and the annual interest rate. Or, compare the impact of up to five different interest rates simultaneously with the What Difference Will the Mortgage Interest Rate Make? calculator.
  
  
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  REALTOR® Magazine Online's Web review editor surfs the Internet to find sites useful to your business and off-hours lives. Have a favorite real estate Web site that you would like to see reviewed? Send your suggestions to mediatech@realtors.org.
  
  Please note: this column does not review individual practitioner or brokerage sites. The columns focus on free sites, as well as sites that charge for goods and services but still offer a free component of practical, sustained value to real estate practitioners.
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  REALTOR® Magazine Online's "Web Review" summarizes the content of Web sites that may be of interest to members. NAR and REALTOR® Magazine Online are not responsible for, and nothing in the Web site profile shall constitute NAR's or REALTOR® Magazine Online's endorsement of, the web site, its content, products and services, or its provider. NAR and REALTOR® Magazine Online believe the information contained in this profile was correct and accurate as of the time it was prepared, but do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of that information and are not responsible for changes in the Web site. Members should conduct their own independent review of the Web site prior to any use of Web site, its content, products, or services to determine their suitability for the member's intended purpose.
  
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