Most people will hopefully own a home during their lifetime; some of them might purchase more than one. It is important to be able to determine whether you can afford the monthly mortgage payment including principal and interest, insurance, and taxes (as well as a PMI payment if that is required). This Discussion will give you an opportunity to practice this concept.

Mortgage

Find a home that is for sale in your area (purchase price must be at least $20,000). Include the link that will take the class to the webpage for the home.

• You will finance 80% of the purchase price. Using 5% as the interest on your 30-year fixed rate mortgage, calculate the monthly payment using the factor table from the textbook.
• Calculate the payment using the same 5%, but for a 15-year mortgage.
• Real estate taxes amount to 1% of the sales price and the insurance premium is .5% of the sales price per year. Calculate the total monthly PITI payment.
• Present your findings to your classmates and explain how much interest you would save over the life of the loan if you used the 15-year versus the 30-year loan. Show your calculations.