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Glenn Said:

Find the monthly mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance with the following conditions?

We Answered:

Sounds like a homework assignment. There are lots of calculators on the 'net that will do this for you - it's really NOT an insurance question.

Irene Said:

Is it better to pay your home taxes & insurance yourself or let the mortgage pay it?

We Answered:

You should have paid a full year in advance on the homeowner's insurance at closing to keep that out of the bloody escrow. And arranged to pay your property taxes. It would save you escrow fees and interest for starters.

You could shop around to get the best deal on the insurance, and re-quote it every 3 years to ensure you continue to get the best premiums for exactly what you need, instead of being locked in. Also, there is a per-payment charge on insurance premiums. If you pay it annually in advance, that's the basic premium. If you pay quarterly, they add 4 billing charges. If you pay monthly, they add 12 billing charges. So even if the billing charges are, say, $5, each, you save at least $20 to $60/yr by paying annually.

Better yet, if you pay the first year up front, stash 1/12 of the annual premium into savings each month, you accumulate a bit of interest and cut your premium costs. By doing this with homeowners, car, and other insurances, property taxes, and various other periodic bills, over time you can save up quite a bit. Furthermore, you never get stuck at bill paying time coming up with money at the last minute.

So you can do much, much better if you take responsibility for paying your bills on time. Why pay high escrow fees, etc, when you can write one check a year and save a bundle?

Loretta Said:

How do I estimate an as accurate as possible mortgage/taxes/insurance monthly payment?

We Answered:

The Equation is as follows-
69900-7000=$62,900

The payment for a 30 year mortgage without PMI and Insurance= 387.29+250 per month in taxes = $637.29

The payment for a 20 year mortgage without PMI and insurance= 459.75+250 per month in taxes = $709.75

You should look into the possibly of PMI and the approximate cost of homeowners insurance to get the most accurate cost of home ownership. Additionally you should budget another 1% the homes value for annual maintenance.

Hazel Said:

mortgage added property taxes and insurance to house payment but that was not in original contract?

We Answered:

It probably was in the papers you signed - that if you got behind in taxes or insurance that it would then be in an escrow. It's nicer of them to do this than to foreclose, don't you think?

Theodore Said:

Can we claim mortgage Insurance on our taxes?

We Answered:

PMI is deductable for tax year 2007 and, as of now, for 2007 only. It's too late to add it for 2006 but they may extend it for 2008 and beyond.....but who knows.

Dwayne Said:

If I take home 9500 a month- is 3900 too much to spend on mortgage, taxes, insurance?

We Answered:

Probably not. It depends on your big picture and how much other debt you have and your living expenses, etc. $3900 is 41% of your take home pay and typically budgets, etc are based on your gross pay. So, if you were to do that, then I'm guessing that $3900 is closer to 30% of your gross monthly pay and that's more in line with where you should be in order to not over burden your budget. Depending on your investment and savings goals, you might want that % to go down a bit.