Wednesday May 16th, 2012

Loan Comparison Calculator

Determining which loan provides you with the best value involves more than simply comparing monthly payments. Use this calculator to sort through the monthly payments, fees and other costs associated with getting a new loan. By comparing these important variables side by side, this calculator can help you pick the loan that works best for you. Click on the "View Report" button to see the results in detail.

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MSG_LOANBEST_LOAN_BY_APR provides the lowest Annual Percentage Rate at BEST_LOAN_APR. The lowest monthly payment is provided by MSG_LOANBEST_LOAN_BY_PAYMENT at BEST_LOAN_PAYMENT per month. **GRAPH**

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Results Summary
&NBSP;	MSG_LOAN1	MSG_LOAN2	MSG_LOAN3
Loan amount	LOAN_AMOUNT0	LOAN_AMOUNT1	LOAN_AMOUNT2
Loan term	LOAN_TERM0	LOAN_TERM1	LOAN_TERM2
Monthly loan payment	MONTHLY_LOAN_PAYMENT0	MONTHLY_LOAN_PAYMENT1	MONTHLY_LOAN_PAYMENT2
Annual percentage rate (APR)	ANNUAL_PERCENTAGE_RATE0	ANNUAL_PERCENTAGE_RATE1	ANNUAL_PERCENTAGE_RATE2

Your input values
&NBSP;	MSG_LOAN1	MSG_LOAN2	MSG_LOAN3
Loan amount	LOAN_AMOUNT0	LOAN_AMOUNT1	LOAN_AMOUNT2
Interest rate	INTEREST_RATE0	INTEREST_RATE1	INTEREST_RATE2
Loan term	LOAN_TERM0	LOAN_TERM1	LOAN_TERM2
Amortization	AMORTIZATION0	AMORTIZATION1	AMORTIZATION2
Origination fee	ORIGINATION_FEE0	ORIGINATION_FEE1	ORIGINATION_FEE2
Commitment fee	COMMITMENT_FEE0	COMMITMENT_FEE1	COMMITMENT_FEE2
Other fees	OTHER_FEES0	OTHER_FEES1	OTHER_FEES2
Other costs	OTHER_COSTS0	OTHER_COSTS1	OTHER_COSTS2
Total closing costs	CLOSING_COSTS0	CLOSING_COSTS1	CLOSING_COSTS2
Balloon payment	BALLOON_PAYMENT0	BALLOON_PAYMENT1	BALLOON_PAYMENT2

This Financial Calculator requires SUN's JavaT Plug-in. If you see this message you will need to download SUN's JavaT Plug-in. This can be done automatically by clicking the yellow bar at the top of your browser and choosing "Install ActiveX Control".

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Definitions

Loan amount
The total dollar amount for this loan.

Interest rate
The interest rate on this loan.

Loan term
The number of years over which you will repay this loan. The most common terms are 15 years and 30 years. If this loan has a "balloon" payment, the loan term will be shorter than the number of years to amortize the loan. For example, a loan with a 5-year term amortized over 30 years will have the same monthly payment as a 30-year loan with the same interest rate. The difference is the 30-year loan will have equal payments for 30 years. The 5-year loan will have equal payments for 5 years and then a very large, or balloon, payment for the remaining balance.

Amortization
The number of years used in calculating the monthly payment. Loans that are amortized over a longer period than their loan term have a balloon payment. See "Loan term" for more information.

Origination fee
The dollar amount charged as a loan origination fee, which is included in the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) calculation. For many loans a 1% origination fee is common. For example: a 1% fee on a $120,000 loan would cost $1,200.

Commitment fee
An upfront fee included in the APR calculation.

Other fees
Fees included in the APR calculation. These fees can vary by lender but, at a minimum, usually includes prepaid interest.

Other costs
Any other costs that should be included in the APR calculation.

Monthly loan payment
Monthly principal and interest payment (PI).

Annual percentage rate (APR)
A standard calculation used by lenders. It is designed to help borrowers compare different loan options. For example: a loan with a lower stated interest rate may be a bad value if its fees are too high. Likewise, a loan with a higher stated rate and very low fees could be an exceptional value. APR calculations incorporate these fees into a single rate. You can then compare loans with different fees, rates or different terms.

Balloon payment
This is the total final payment for all loans that are amortized over a period of time longer than the loan term. The balloon payment is total interest and principal balance due at the end of the loan term. (If the loan term is the same as the amortization, this amount is always zero.)