To use the mortgage payment calculator, fill out the information of your loan on the left-hand side of the screen, including:

The purchase price of the home
The down payment
The term of the loan
Your interest rate

Under the “Advanced” section, you can also enter your property tax and homeowners insurance for a more accurate estimate.

Once filled out on the right-hand side of the screen, you’ll see your total payment amount in green text. Under this readout, you’ll see three tabs: “Breakdown, “Over Time and “Amortization.”

The “Breakdown” tab outlines what you pay in principal and interest, taxes and insurance and PMI (if applicable).

The “Over Time” tabs shows your interest and principal payments over the term of your mortgage.

The “Amortization” tab displays your monthly payment amounts over time. Amortization is just a fancy word for monthly payments towards a debt, according to Bankrate.

Purchase price

This refers to the overall cost of the home you intend to buy. This is the final price that you and the seller agree to.

Down payment

The down payment represents the initial payment made toward the purchase of the home. As mentioned before, making a down payment of less than 20% might prompt lenders to require PMI.

Term (years)

The term signifies the length of the loan. Opting for shorter terms, like 15 years, often results in higher monthly payments but reduced overall interest expenses compared to longer terms, such as 30 years, says Bankrate.

Interest rate

The interest rate is the annual cost of borrowing money from the lender, expressed as a percentage of the loan amount.