California Mortgage Calculator

How to use the mortgage calculator

1. Under "Loan amount," enter the amount you intend to borrow.

2. Under "Interest rate," enter the mortgage interest rate that you expect to get.

3. Under "Loan term (years)," enter the length of the mortgage in years. Most mortgages have 30-year terms.

After you enter these three pieces of information, the calculator prominently displays the monthly payment inside the "Your loan estimate" window. It also displays:

• The loan amount (under "Total principal").

• How much interest you would pay over the life of the loan ("Total interest payments").

• The total principal plus interest you would pay over the loan's term ("Total loan payments").

• The monthly principal and interest payment excluding taxes and insurance ("Monthly mortgage payment").

• The payoff date, which is the month when you would pay the last scheduled payment.

Calculating costs in addition to principal and interest

The calculator lets you fine-tune your payment by entering your annual property tax premium, annual home insurance premium, monthly homeowner association fee and monthly cost of mortgage insurance. Note that you'll enter the annual cost for property tax and home insurance, and the monthly cost for HOA fees and mortgage insurance.

Select "Show amortization schedule" to uncover a table that shows how much you'll pay in principal and interest each month, as well as the remaining amount you owe ("Principal balance") after making the payment.

» MORE: What is mortgage amortization?

Explanation of terminology

• Loan amount: Also known as principal, this is the amount you borrow. Each mortgage payment reduces the principal you owe.

• Interest rate: How much the lender charges you to lend you the money. Interest rates are expressed as an annual percentage. A lower interest rate gives you a smaller monthly payment.

• Loan term (years): The term is the number of years it will take to pay off the mortgage. A longer term gives you a lower monthly payment than a shorter term does. But you pay more total interest with a longer term because you're paying interest for more months.

• Start date: The month that your first mortgage payment is due.

• Property taxes: The annual tax assessed by a government authority on your home and land. You pay about one-twelfth of your annual tax bill with each mortgage payment, and the servicer saves them in an escrow account. When the taxes are due, the loan servicer pays them.

• Homeowners insurance: Your policy covers damage and financial losses from fire, storms, theft, a tree falling on your house and other bad things. As with property taxes, you pay roughly one-twelfth of your annual premium each month, and the servicer pays the bill when it's due.

• Monthly HOA fees: The amount you may pay each month if you belong to a homeowners association. Typically, these dues are billed directly, not added to the monthly mortgage payment. Because HOA dues can be easy to forget when considering the cost of homeownership, NerdWallet's mortgage calculator allows you to enter them here.

• Private mortgage insurance: If your down payment is less than 20% of the home’s purchase price, you’ll likely pay mortgage insurance. It protects the lender in case a borrower defaults on a mortgage.

Using the mortgage calculator to compare scenarios

This mortgage calculator lets you change the loan amount, interest rate, loan term and other factors so you can see the effect on monthly payments.

Feel free to test it out by entering your loan amount, then altering the interest rate or the loan term (or both). You won't break anything!

If you're looking to see how much you could save by refinancing your mortgage, try NerdWallet's refinance calculator.