There are two main types of mortgage calculators: hand-held and online. Hand-held mortgage calculators are helpful when you are away from your computer. Online mortgage calculators offer many more functions and are generally easier to use. You can find many free online mortgage calculators just by doing a search for them.

There are plenty of different calculators out there. Many can tell you how much house you can afford based on payment, or tell you the income that you will need in order to qualify.

There are many factors such as you credit score, debt to income ratio, down payment, how much credit you have, etc that will determine what type of rates you actually qualify for. While a mortgage calculator can give you an idea of what to expect, you should not necessarily expect it to be an accurate estimate of your actual mortgage payments.

A mortgage calculator is only a guide. A mortgage professional will be the only person that will be able to give you the specifics you need about your mortgage loan.

A very neat tool to use is a rent vs buy mortgage calculator. This type of calculator will show you many of the different benefits of buying a home versus renting an apartment or renting a home. Mortgage calculators are nice, simple tools to help give you general ideas as to the numbers involved in the mortgage industry, however they should never be used to replace talking with a good knowledgeable mortgage professional.

A huge advantage to using a mortgage calculator is it gives you information without a sales pitch. Using calculators can help you get a good idea on what payments will be prior to starting the process. However it will take the help of a mortgage professional to help you get pre-qualified.