It occurs to me that the blog format isn’t entirely conducive to conversations initiated by you folks out there in big wide world. If you’d like to see particular features implemented for the calculator, this page can be a home to those requests. Tack your comment onto this page for easy reference.
93 Replies to “Feature Requests”
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Hi, Jim.
I don’t work in finance in any way, so I don’t know how the industry typically handles such scenarios as the one you’re suggesting. Also, the calculator has no provision for a delay in the payment schedule. However, with a minimal amount of additional calculation, it may be possible to make it work out.
One reasonable approach is to allow the accrued interest during the non-payment period to be added to the principal amount when regular payments begin. For the sake of example, let’s choose some round numbers for convenience: $12,000 loan at 6%. For monthly payments, the periodic interest rate might be 0.5% (6%/12 months).
Method One, Simple Interest: Before payments have begun, the monthly interest due on the outstanding principal is 0.5%×$12,000=$60 per month. If payments are to begin 3 months from the beginning of the loan, then 2 additional months have been added, so add $120 to the principal amount (e.g., $12,120), and run the amortization.
Method Two, Compound Interest: Should the lender require a compounded interest calculation, the math is slightly more complicated. The formula is P×(1+i)n, where P is the principal amount, i is the periodic interest rate (0.5% here) and n is the number of non-payment periods (2, in this case). Using our numbers, the new principal amount when payments begin is $12,120.30.
The lender may have even more creative ways of handling this payment moratorium stuff. Again, I’m no authority!
Best wishes,
Bret
Hi Bret:
Great calculator. Maybe you can help me with a problem? I need to figure out a amoritization schedule where the first payment is delayed for 3 months and a ballon is due at 84 months. The current schedule covers all of the other variables I need to deal with.
Keep up the great work!!
Thanks,
Jim
I don’t understand your question, shopnodeb.
Hi Bret,
The calculator is designed to fill in whatever field has been left blank. Cant u omit one the fields??? or cant u show us the way how we can customize it..???
Hi, Jackie. The calculator is designed to fill in whatever field has been left blank. If you fill in all the blanks and there’s nothing left but the balloon payment, it dutifully fills in that value given all the other data.
If you don’t want the balloon payment amount to be filled in, leave one of the other fields blank (like the payment amount field). If the payment amount turns out to be not what you expected, perhaps you might leave the interest rate field blank instead.
Hi Bret!
In using your amortization schedule I can’t seem to make it work for me because I just need the schedule printed with no balloon payment. I have the principal, interest rate, pymts per yr, no. of pymts, and what I want my payment too be and just need a schedule printed out for me. Is that possible? I tried just putting 1.00 in the balloon payment slot but thought there must be a better way. I’m borrowing from my mom and wanted a printed copy for each of us.
Thanks for the answer, Bret.
I’d love to have a spreadsheet for this calculation and payoff date for that very reason. It would be helpful to see how large my payment will become while factoring in the early payoff date.
My situation may be unique, but I have an 80/20 loan and I plan to complete payments on the second early and then roll over my budgeted amount for the second mortgage just in time for those substantially larger principal payments.
I have been accelerating my payments this was for about four years and since the payment goes up about $1 per month, I’ve found that it’s pretty easy to budget for it.
Thanks for the note!
That’s an interesting idea, angelideet, but I’m not convinced it’s a generally useful calculation, though it may have a small bit of marketing appeal.
In the beginning of the loan, the principal may be a small amount compared to the interest portion of a payment, so paying the next month’s principal in advance does not pose too big an additional burden. But toward the end of the loan, the principal portion is substantially larger. In addition, since the principal portion is always changing, the payment amount under this acceleration scheme would be constantly changing as well. My feeling is that people would prefer to budget for some sort of fixed payment amount by which they may evaluate various acceleration plans.
Of course, one could always set up a spreadsheet to do the calculation you have suggested, if that’s useful to someone.
It’s great to hear from an FSU grad! Spring semester starts up on Tuesday.
Hi Bret!
I’m an FSU grad and I use your calculator all the time.
One feature I can’t find on any amortization calculator on the web is one that would calculate the number of payments and amount of interest saved if the borrower pays the following month’s principal with their monthly payment.
I used to work for a financial institution that had a program that could run that calculation, so I know it can be done.
Thanks!
Hello,
I have checked out several amortization schedules and I like yours the best.
Thank you for making that available to the general public for free. I am learning to create websites and I know how time consuming entering all the correct code is.
The only thing I would love to see (like Trailerman suggested above), would be a date field so I could see the final date when my home will be paid off without counting the lines (although you do have them divided in monthly segments).
Again, thanks so much!