Davis Monroe Financial LLC · self-help estimating tools
An extra monthly payment is money added on top of your normal payment that goes straight to the loan balance (principal). Because you owe less sooner, you're charged less interest over time — so even a small amount each month can shave years off the loan and save thousands.
Property tax, insurance, and PMI auto-fill from your price, loan, and down payment using 2026 averages — type over any of them to use your own figures.
Discount points are an up-front fee paid at closing to buy a lower interest rate. Rule of thumb: 1 point = 1% of the loan amount and lowers the rate by roughly 0.25% (this varies by lender and market). Points only pay off if you keep the loan past the break-even point shown below.
| Year | Principal | Interest | Extra | Balance |
|---|
Estimate the home price and loan you may qualify for, based on standard debt-to-income guidelines.
Front-end ratio caps housing costs at a share of income. Back-end ratio caps total debt (housing plus other monthly debts). We use the lower of the two. Lender and program guidelines vary.
Compare your current loan to a new one and find your break-even point.
Each discount point costs 1% of the new balance and lowers the new rate by about 0.25%. Points are added to your closing costs in the break-even below.
Project how an ARM payment could move once it starts adjusting. Caps limit each change and the lifetime maximum.
| Period | Rate | Payment (P&I) | Change |
|---|
Projection uses your expected per-adjustment change, limited by the periodic and lifetime caps. Actual ARM rates track an index plus a margin and will differ.
Enter up to three scenarios side by side. The lowest total cost is highlighted.
| Loan A | Loan B | Loan C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loan Amount | |||
| Interest Rate (%) | |||
| Term (years) | |||
| Up-front Fees ($) | |||
| Discount Points (% of loan) |
| Loan A | Loan B | Loan C |
|---|
Total cost = all payments over the loan term plus up-front fees. A shorter term usually means higher payments but far less total interest.
Scenarios you send from the Payment, Refinance, and ARM tabs are saved here so you can line them up against future ones. Saved in your browser on this device.