Mortgage 101: The Numbers That Actually Matter
Skip the jargon. The four numbers every borrower needs to understand before signing.
A mortgage is just a loan secured against a house. Everything else is fees, paperwork, and acronyms designed to confuse you. There are four numbers that actually decide whether you got a good deal.
1. Loan-to-Value (LTV). Your loan divided by the home's value. Below 80% (i.e., 20% down) avoids private mortgage insurance — usually $100–$300/month savings.
2. APR, not the headline rate. APR includes most of the lender's fees, so it tells you the true cost of borrowing. Always compare APR across lenders.
3. Debt-to-Income (DTI). Total monthly debt payments divided by gross monthly income. Healthy DTI is under 36%; 'risky' starts at 43%.
4. Total interest over the life of the loan. A 30-year loan often pays as much in interest as the home itself. Run that number — it changes how you think about extra principal payments.
Run all four through our Mortgage Calculator, or ask Ava to gut-check the lender's offer line by line.
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