Hard Fact or Gentle Guide? How to View Online Mortgage Calculator Results

So, you’re thinking about buying a property… Whether you’ve been nurturing a deposit for your first home for years or are looking to make a move from your current home, knowing exactly how much you could borrow from mortgage providers is an important part of assessing what your budget is, and what you can realistically afford. But chasing down quotes from individual providers is a whole lot of legwork, and you may still find that you miss a trick by failing to ask a lender who looks upon your particular circumstances favourably. That is why many of us now turn to online mortgage calculators to give us greater insight into the types of mortgage available to us and our mortgage affordability.

Can You Trust the Calculators?

While many mortgage calculators do a good job of generating a range of different quotes from a range of different providers (including both high street and more niche options), they should always be approached with caution. This is because there are major discrepancies between the results provided by different calculators. In some cases, this is simply down to the way results are calculated. However, to obtain an accurate result it is imperative to ensure the information it is based on is correct, and perhaps more importantly, in the format the lender requires. Pop your details into two different online mortgage calculators and, chances are, you will get very different results. Within these results, you are also likely to see huge variations in the types and levels of mortgage “available” to you depending on the provider.

“A Pinch of Salt”

In the worst cases, mortgage calculators are little more than advertising tools for a finance product; in the best cases, they are general guides to what you might expect to receive as an offer from a range of mortgage providers. However, these figures should always be taken with a pinch of salt. Mortgage calculations are complex and every provider has their own policies which dictate how mortgage affordability is appraised. Using a range of mortgage calculators could flag up providers who will offer favourable rates; however, you should take nothing as gospel until you have received a direct quote and response from the provider themselves. Need expert help with sourcing a mortgage which fits your finances and lifestyle? We can help. Talk to the JMB mortgage specialists today on 0800 114 3978 and receive accurate quotes from a huge range of mortgage providers.